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Copyright N° CjrH-^j H 

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CDEffilGHT DKPOSm 


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THE LIBRARY OF 
CONGRESS, 

Two Copies Received 

JUL 1 1903 

Copyright Entry 

f<jo3 

CLASS a XXc. No. 

S~C> O 6 / 

COPY G. 



Copyright, 1903, by 

G. W. DILLINGHAM COMPANY 

[All rights reserved ] 


River fall. 


Issued Sept., iqoj. 


c < 


PUBLISHERS' NOTE 

When the original of this story was published, a 
dozen years ago, under another title, Edward Bellamy 
wrote, “ I have read your book and hope a hundred 
thousand others will read it.” That hope was more 
than fulfilled, but the novel was never satisfactory to 
the author. A vein ran through it which he now ad- 
mits had no rightful plaice there. A distinguished 
woman said, “ You have carved a marvellous white 
statue and dashed mud over the pedestal.” 

It is to offer the public that statue with the 
stains eliminated that “ Biverfall ” has been prepared. 
Stronger even that its predecessor, it contains no line 
that cannot be read aloud in any circle. We believe 
it the most powerful and most readable presentation of 
the subject of which it treats that has been offered. 

It is our intention to withdraw the original book 
from circulation. 

G. W. DILLINGHAM COMPANY. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER 

/. .... 

//. .... 

III. .... 

IV. .... 

V. .... 

X/. .... 

X//. .... 

VIII. .... 

/X .... 

X. .... 

X/. .... 

X//. .... 

XIII. .... 

x/x. .... 

XV. .... 

XX/. .... 

XX//. .... 

XVIII. .... 

x/x. .... 

XX. .... 

XXI. .... 

XX//. .... 

XXIII. .... 

xx/x. .... 

XXX. .... 

XXVI. .... 

XXX//. .... 

XXVIII. . 

XXIX. .... 

XXX. .... 


p 

47 

57 

70 

^3 
9 6 
109 
ii9 
132 
i43 
^53 
. 164 

. 178 

. 196 

207 
. 221 

237 
. 248 

254 
270 
282 
291 
302 
3 i 4 

323 

334 

345 

354 



ILLUSTRATIONS 


A terrific noise burst upon their ears (page 264) Frontispiece 

FACING PAGE 

** I learn to-day that you are to make a cut in 

our wages 99 . .... 62 

“ How would you like to go to Riverf all with me f" 107 
“ Only women and children can enter here /" . 184 

“Her name is Margaret Perry ” . * . 240 

“ Darlings open your eyes and speak to me ! ” 


310 






Riverfall 


I 

The tall elms and maples that bordered the walks 
were nearly denuded of their brilliant foliage, and the 
grounds of the Agency were alive with scurrying leaves 
of brilliant colors, tossed hither and thither by the 
autumn winds. The well-kept lawn was brown and the 
faded shrubs and flower beds testified that winter was 
not far away. Even the vines that clung to the old 
mansion were withered and seemed to shrink from the 
long windows which earlier in the season they had half 
covered with their verdure. The chill of September 
was in the air. 

Two gentlemen came down the granite steps, and the 
elder buttoned his long overcoat tightly about his slender 
frame as he felt the force of the east wind. The other, 
less than half his companion’s age, put his ungloved 
hands in the pockets of his short walking coat, and 
pressed his elbows closely to his sides. 

“ Are you sure you won’t take cold, Uncle John? ” 
he asked, with a thoughtful smile. “ We mustn’t be 
reckless, just because the sun happens to shine again.” 

“ I shall be all right, Philip, if we keep walking,” 
responded the other hoarsely. “ Let us promenade on 


10 


KIVEKFALL 


the paths. Pm weary of staying indoors. I have a 
number of things to say to you, and I can think better 
when on my feet.” 

As he spoke, John Westland, President of the Great 
Central Corporation for nearly forty years, and one of 
its largest stockholders, looked with knitted brows 
across the terrace, beyond the place where he stood, 
to the factory village in the valley. It was the typical 
village where cotton is manufactured into cloth, with its 
seven huge structures of red brick, where the processes 
of spinning and weaving were carried on, each dominated 
by a tall chimney, from which black masses of smoke 
were pouring. The stream which gave in connection 
with its dam a name to the town — Eiverfall — supplied 
at some seasons sufficient power to move the machinery, 
but the past summer had been unusually dry, and at 
present steam had to do practically all the work. A 
dozen houses of the better class could be discerned along 
the hillside of which the Agency grounds occupied the 
crest, but below them long stretches of “ barracks ” 
showed where the great majority of the inhabitants ate 
and slept. 

Perhaps a little better than the negro quarters on a 
Virginia plantation in the days before the war, these 
buildings were still far behind the best American stand- 
ard for housing the working class. They were owned 
by the Corporation, and occupied by its operatives and 
their families. The walls were as a general thing on a 
line with the street, giving little chance for adornment, 
had any been desired by the tenants, nor of course for 
anything like a veranda or even “ stoop.” 


RIVERFALL 


II 


Small children played in the istreets, while their 
mothers conversed in a high key from house to house. 
Dealers in foodstuffs varied the monotony with cries 
of articles for sale. The rattle of wheels and the com- 
ing and going at the sound of the mill whistle were the 
chief events of the day. 

u The doctor says it won’t do for me to risk another 
winter here/’ said John Westland, after a short spell 
of coughing. “ I’ve fixed on next week as the time for 
starting, Monday, if possible. Nathan, that new valet 
I engaged in New York, will attend to me and see that 
I get everything I need for my comfort in Florida. 
Edna ” (he hesitated at the name) “ will — stay here. 
She understands and is quite content. As to the busi- 
ness, I must leave that pretty much in your hands. You 
can communicate with me daily, and of course use the 
telegraph, if necessary. There’ll be nothing you can’t 
handle — unless the operatives make trouble.” 

Philip smiled confidently. “ I think I can handle 
that, too, if it comes,” he said, showing his white and 
even teeth. “ I’ll risk their getting very far from my 
control.” 

The younger man was about twenty-eight, tall, athletic, 
dark and well poised. He had not been intended for a 
manufacturer by his father, who engaged in other busi- 
ness during a life that ended abruptly several years 
previous to the opening of this story. He had, in fact, 
settled down to nothing regular until the summer just 
ended, when his uncle sent for him to take some of the 
burden from his failing shoulders. After leaving the 
university Philip had traveled considerably, and when 


12 


RIVERFALL 


he found himself at his father’s death in possession of a 
comfortable income he saw no need of entering the rush 
and tumble of business life. 

The call to Riverfall, however, partook of the nature 
of a sacred duty. His only surviving uncle needed his 
services, and they were placed at once at his disposal. 
Philip set about acquiring knowledge of matters con- 
nected with the mills with the cheerful earnestness of 
a healthy and energetic young man, whose pent-up 
force found occupation of any kind delightful. He 
was fond of his uncle, and glad to do all he could to aid 
him. Soon he found, to his surprise, that work was 
in itself a pleasure, compared to which idleness was a 
decided bore. He could not acquire in a few months 
the immense technical knowledge that had come in 
many years to his uncle, but the management of men 
seemed his natural forte. 

Above all, he had a supreme confidence in himself, 
and in his ability to overcome obstacles. While he 
deeply regretted the state of health that made it neces- 
sary for John Westland to avoid the rigors of a north- 
ern winter, he welcomed the responsibilities he would 
be called to assume. 

“ I don’t believe there’ll be another strike,” said 
the elder man, after a long look of gratification into his 
companion’s face ; “ though nothing but a miracle can 
prevent our making a cut of ten per cent, in wages. The 
stoppage of business ten years ago must have taught 
our workmen that we always win in the end, and that 
living on half rations for six months is not as nice as 
some of their hotheads tried to make it out, It’s always 


13 


RIVERFALL 


two or three that cause the trouble — the bulk of the 
people are managed easily. Get hold of the leaders 
and scare 'em off — or buy ’em up if that seems the 
easiest way — and you’ll have no strike. As for the 
mass it never does to let them think their talk amounts 
to anything. My great mistake when they last struck 
was in dickering and palavering with them at all. If 
I’m here the next time they start a row I’ll settle it 
in short order. At the meeting of directors to-morrow 
I’ll have authority given you to take the strongest steps 
in case they’re required. I don’t believe you’ll need 
more than snap the whip if they act fractious.” 

President Westland spoke and thought of the people 
in his mills as he spoke and thought of the horses who 
drew his carriage. He would not have been wantonly 
cruel to either of them. He believed himself a kind 
and considerate employer, and would have resented an 
imputation that he could do anything unbecoming a 
gentleman and a Christian. He was a fine looking old 
man, with snow-white hair speaking benevolence in 
every fibre, and a carefully trimmed beard that gave 
a venerable cast to his face. Coming to Riverfall in his 
long past youth he had founded here the manufactures 
which he believed should have been rewarded by a 
monument, or at the very least a tablet, procured at the 
expense and by the initiative of the employes, who had 
shown, instead, the basest ingratitude for his labors. 

Did he not give them work — steady employment at 
regular wages ? Almost every mouth in the community 
owed its sustenance to him. And yet he felt, with a 
bitter pain at the heart — that the only emblems of 


*4 


RIVERFALL 


mourning when he died would be paid for out of the 
treasury of the company. 

If his horses were balky he would lay his whip on 
them ; they knew no other form of reason. If his opera- 
tives struck he would drive them into submission to 
what was for their good, until they learned that hunger 
and cold were the rewards of idleness. Animals — and 
children — and mill workers, he thought required supe- 
rior intelligence to decide what was best for them. 

“ It would be a fine thing if we could break up their 
union,” suggested Philip, thoughtfully, as they came 
to a bend in the path, from which they could see the 
mills more plainly. 

“ The union does little harm if you pay no attention 
to it,” was the sharp reply. “ It serves to amuse them 
and gives a chance for the hotheads to air their troubles. 
Just now, too, they’ve got a woman running things, and 
it will be easy to manage her. But I — I think I’d best 
go into the house. Even this sunshiny atmosphere is too 
cold for me.” 

Philip offered his uncle an arm, which that gentle- 
man condescended to take. It was clear that his physi- 
cal strength was at a very low ebb. 

“ Is this woman really at the head of the operatives ? ” 
questioned Philip, as they walked slowly along. 

“ I don’t know. There’s a spinner named Hugh — I 
forget his other name — who runs things about as he 
pleases, I guess, though Ellen holds the nominal position 
of chief. The whole idea is ridiculous, but as long as a 
snake only shakes his rattles we don’t need to bother. 
If he ever forgets himself enough to strike we’ve got to 


RIVERFALL 


15 


put our heel on his head and teach him a lesson. Half 
way measures are lost on these ignorant people. The 
severest means are really the kindest, for they are only 
well-meaning dunces, led astray by agitators.” 

At the veranda, which Mr. Westland, Sr., ascended 
with difficulty, leaning heavily on his companion’s 
shoulder, he paused and looked over the valley. 

“ When I first came here,” he said, huskily, “ there 
wasn’t a building of any kind in all the space your eyes 
cover; just a little stream meandering through the 
farms. I had $5,000 — not a penny more — to set up 
the first loom. I got my power by the rudest dam you 
can conceive of, and with three Englishmen I began to 
teach the farmers’ girls how to spin and weave. It was 
five years before I could feel the earth solid under my 
feet. When the Civil War broke out I had my plant 
made over to a corporation, the nucleus of the one here 
to-day. The difficulty of getting cotton nearly swamped 
us then, and we didn’t dare ask too many questions 
about how what we could buy came through the lines. 
In 1864 our third mill was finished, and we ran night 
and day. That was the time money was made, cloth 
retailing at forty and fifty cents a yard ! Then Yankee 
help began to get scarce — farmers’ girls wouldn’t go 
into the mills any more — and we took in Irish, that were 
coming in droves from the other side. And after that,” 
the speaker paused for breath, “ it was the Canadians, 
half of whom couldn’t speak a word of English when 
they arrived, that we had to rely on. How there are, 
as you know, some Poles, Swedes and Armenians; and 
they all get twice the pay they could earn in their own 


i6 


RIVEUFALL 


countries, with steady work from one year’s end to 
another. Who gave it to them ? I did ! Do they show 
the least gratitude ? Not one ! ” 

Mr. Westland sank into a chair on the veranda and 
thanked Philip mutely as the latter spread over his 
knees a heavy lap robe. The note of discouragement 
at the ungratefulness of the mill people furrowed his 
brow deeply and met a responsive chord in the breast 
of the listener. There was a moment of silence and then 
the long noon whistle was sounded. As the two men 
gazed toward the mills the doors of one after the other 
were thrown open, and men and women, boys and girls, 
came out in swarms. The younger people were running, 
some pushing each other and “ skylarking.” The faint 
noise of shouting was wafted through the air. Then 
the older people appeared, walking at a quick gait, but 
more soberly, and the crowds spread in the direction of 
the boarding houses. 

(C Happy, careless scamps ! ” muttered the manu- 
facturer — “ I could envy them. No worry, no need to 
think of the future — work always provided, pay as 
regular as the sun — with an average state of health I 
would give half I own to possess. And not one stops 
to think of what they owe me — not one reflects on the \ 
years I have given to turn this unproductive spot into 
bread and meat for their benefit ! ” 

Philip felt the force of this statement as he heard 
the tired voice and noted the weary eyes. At that mo- 
ment he could have taken a whip to the ungrateful 
sharers in this philanthropist’s bounty. 

“ You have done so many things for them,” he mur- 


7 7 


RIVERFALL 


mured. “ You have contributed, I hear, to all the 
churches; and I know you were the largest subscriber 
to the Young Men’s Christian Association. My dear 
uncle, there is but one consolation in a case like yours — 
the work you have done is recorded to your credit in 
heaven ! ” 

He lifted his hat reverently as he spoke, but Mr. 
Westland tapped his foot impatiently on the floor of the 
veranda. 

“ Heaven ! ” he retorted, with a sudden rage. “ What 
has Heaven done for me? It has sent me broken 
health when I should be in the prime of life; it has 
denied me a son and inflicted blindness on my only 
daughter. I know,” he added, quickly, as he saw the 
shocked look of his auditor, “ that I ought not to say 
this, but my nerves are unstrung. I try to be patient — I 
try to believe that God is just. Don’t discuss the matter, 
please. It is time I took my medicine and got ready 
for lunch.” 

“ Tenderly as a woman” — that is the usual expression 
to describe the way Philip assisted his uncle to his feet 
and escorted him within doors. Tenderly as a man who 
feels that one he loves is rapidly nearing the end of 
his earthly days, and has a right to complain of thank- 
lessness sharper than a serpent’s tooth — is a clearer way 
of expressing the idea. 

“ Riverfall is my pride — its industries are my monu- 
ment,” faltered the manufacturer as they entered the 
mansion. “ I shall rely on you to keep it what I have 
made it, when God calls his unworthy servant hence.” 


2 


n 


RIVERFALL 


1 8 


“ A spinner named Hugh ! ” The name interested the 
new manager of the Great Central Corporation; and 
soon, when the rumors of dissatisfaction began to grow 
loud enough to he heard outside the lodge rooms, it 
struck him that it would he a stroke of diplomacy to 
make Hugh’s acquaintance. He wanted to study this 
lieutenant of the woman who was said to control “ his ” 
operatives. 

When Philip obtained a formal introduction from 
one of the men in the counting room, Hugh took the 
outstretched hand with a firm grasp, and his clear blue 
eyes looked unflinchingly into the young gentleman’s. 
The spinner was a trifle under the medium height, of 
sturdy build and engaging countenance. He wore a 
short blond beard and moustache and had a forehead 
noticeably high. Any one who had once met his frank 
but determined glance would have picked him out as 
worth a second look. 

Although young Westland had imbibed many ideas 
common to employers of labor in relation to their 
“ help,” he was not by nature an “ aristocrat.” He had 
been educated, to be sure, in the common notion that 
class distinctions are a necessary part of the arrange- 
ment of human society, but he had a generous desire that 
those about him should be as comfortable as the nature 
of things permitted. 


RIVERFALL 


ig 


He had, for instance, thought a good deal during 
the past summer of the houses in which his employes 
resided, wishing to make them better fitted for self- 
respecting human beings. A vacant piece of ground 
here and there in the village could be laid out as a 
garden, too, and a night-school established for the work- 
men who needed its advantages. 

But a hint of these ideas to his uncle had met with 
decided opposition. The instant these people got it into 
their heads they were to be “ pampered,” said Mr. 
Westland, Sr., there would be no getting along with 
them. Socialists and anarchists were putting them up 
to enough queer thoughts, without those whose duty it 
was to govern adding fuel to the flame. There were 
already the public schools, supported almost wholly by 
the Corporation, as the largest taxpayer in town. As to 
gardens with flowers in them, he asked if it was likely 
that a village which could hardly show a dozen plants 
in all its windows would care to have “ posey beds ” 
maintained for its delectation. The boys would rob 
every one as soon as the first blossoms appeared, and 
trample the plants in the mud before a month was 
over. 

There seemed a fault in this reasoning somewhere, 
but Philip did not think it becoming to argue the point 
with a man who had known these people for forty years 
and who should be aware of what was best for them. 
Perhaps he stored away in the interior of his brain a 
resolve to make a trial of the matter on a small scale 
at a later date, when he had fuller control ; for the pres- 
ent it was quite enough to meet the problem of keeping 


20 


R TVER FALL 


the established rate of dividend ready for distribution 
among the stockholders. 

The latter object — which as every one knows is the 
primary one in operating a cotton mill — had already 
given him some uneasiness,- for, owing to the impending 
Presidential election, prices of finished goods had fallen 
and the demand had grown smaller. In the ware- 
houses of the company hundreds of bales were stored 
which must be sold, if at all, at considerably less profit 
than usual. Owing to a shortage in the crop, cotton had 
also risen at the same time that the product of the mills 
had taken a slump. 

The reserve in the corporation treasury was less than 
at any time during the past decade. At the two last 
meetings the directors had seriously considered reduc- 
ing wages, but had hesitated, partly from disinclination 
to cause distress, and partly because such action might 
result (nobody could tell) in a strike which would dis- 
arrange business. They knew, of course, that such a 
strike could have but one result — a victory, sooner or 
later, for the mill-owners — but in the meantime, if it 
lasted long enough, the corporation was pretty sure to 
be a loser as well as the wage-earners. Hew as he was 
to the business, Westland felt that he ought to get at all 
points of view in this matter — ye s, even at that held 
by these Prench-Canadians, Swedes and Armenians, who 
might make it uncomfortable for him as well as them- 
selves if they followed bad advice. 

Everybody talked to him of Ellen. “ A dangerous 
woman/’ all said. She had gained such an ascendancy 
over the mill people that they would do practically what 


RIVERFALL 21 

she directed. And Hugh Mayfield, this ordinary spin- 
ner, working a dozen hours a day at his usual task, had 
found time to act as her assistant in handing these 
ignorant people into a “Union” that claimed rights 
coordinate with, if not superior to, the owners of this 
immense plant. Philip decided without much reflection 
that this was the place for him to begin. The man must 
be the true source of power, and the woman merely a 
figurehead; it did not take much discernment to figure 
that out. To go to the root of the matter he must get 
acquainted with Hugh. 

The few moments that the manager and the mill-hand 
had together at their first meeting served, at least, to 
put them on good terms. Westland liked the broad 
forehead and clear eyes of the young fellow, and Hugh 
thought he saw something more than the ordinary task- 
master in the smiling countenance that beamed upon 
him. He had seen Philip at a distance several times, 
and had heard favorable reports of him from the village 
gossips. They had noticed the tender way in which he 
cared for his blind cousin Edna, when they were out 
walking or riding, as well as his assiduous attentions to 
the poor old man for whom, in his decrepitude, even 
those who had felt his iron rule found their hearts going 
out in pity. Hugh believed he could read character, and 
was as glad to know Philip as Philip was to know him. 
Besides, he had talked the matter over with Ellen, who 
advised him to get as intimate as possible with the man 
on whom all their interests were to depend. 

A few days, therefore, after John Westland’s depar- 
ture for the South, Philip and Hugh were strolling to- 




RIVERFALL 


gether along a road a mile or so from the village, at 
the close of a pleasant afternoon. It is needless to say 
it was Sunday, for the workingman had no other time 
for such recreation. In accordance with Philip’s plan, 
the conversation dwelt almost wholly on matters con- 
nected with the business in which each was in his own 
way vitally interested. Slowly the talk came around 
to the matter of the Union, and the name of “ Ellen ” 
was uttered by Mayfield. 

“ Isn’t it something unusual,” remarked Philip — 
“ putting a lady at the head of a union in which fully 
half the members are ” 

“ Gentlemen ? ” interposed Hugh, with a smile. “ I 
don’t know how that would be ; Ellen is not a lady.” 

“Hot— a— lady!” 

“ She would be the last to claim such a title,” said the 
young mill-hand. “ She is a working girl — a working 
woman, if you like that better, though she is only twenty. 
If you ever meet Ellen and wish to annoy her you may 
apply to her the term ‘ lady.’ ” 

Philip took out a silk handkerchief and wiped his 
forehead. 

“ You startled me,” he explained, as he noticed his 
companion’s look. “ And why do you — why does every 
one — allude to this strange woman simply as ‘ Ellen ’ ? 
I have never heard any other name given her.” 

In the deep blue eyes of the mill-hand there was a 
pained expression that might have dignified the orbs of 
one much higher in the estimation of the world. 

“ She has no other name,” he said, gently. “ She 
could take that of her mother, if she would, but she 




KIVEKFALL 


prefers otherwise. We respect her wishes in this 
matter, as in all others. 

“ Then, she does not know her origin ? ” 

“ Yes, she does. Her mother, Margaret Perry, was 
an English weaver, who lived here for some years. Her 
father was the son of a very wealthy family, and is now 
a member of the Hew York Senate.” 

The calm manner in which these words were uttered, 
tha absence of concealment of their full meaning, aston- 
ished the listener greatly. He stood stockstill in the 
road . 

“ Yes,” repeated Hugh, soberly. “ Ellen is what the 
law calls illegitimate.” 

“ What the law calls ! ” repeated Philip. “ What 
else can it be called ? ” 

“ Love-born.” 

“ I fear the Senator deserves no such compliment,” re- 
torted Westland. “ He must be a cold-hearted villain 
to leave his child to be brought up in poverty.” 

“ My reference was not to him, but to the mother,” 
was the quick reply. “ Margaret Perry came to 
America hardly more than a child herself, poor and 
friendless. Ellen’s father was a young college student, 
whose family had large interests in these mills, and 
here he met her. A sweet, shy, pretty girl she was, 
people say who remember her, ignorant of the world as 
an angel. He trapped her into what she supposed was 
a marriage — she too flattered and pleased to doubt his 
word — the same old story that has happened so often. 
She loved him to the last, would never hear a word 
against him, and died with his name on her lips.” 


24 


RIVERFALL 


Westland shuddered. 

“ He knew of what had happened — and never even 
sent her money ! ” 

Hugh’s face hardened. “ I thought you would ask 
that,” he said. “ He sent money and it was returned to 
him. The neighbors helped his victim through, she 
was gone in a few years after the baby came. Since 
then Ellen’s father has never appeared in Kiverfall; I 
do not think it would be quite healthy for him,” added 
the speaker grimly. 

The walk was resumed under the nearly bare arms of 
the maples that lined the roadway. The sun was declin- 
ing and the autumn winds were playing with the dead 
leaves. 

“ Ellen could have taken his name, though,” said 
Westland, after some moments of silence. “ I have 
known such cases.” 

“ She would not honor him so highly.” 

“ You speak warmly. One would think she were a 
relation of your own.” 

“ She is ! ” Hugh stopped short in the road. “ She is 
my sister.” 

“ I am sorry ! ” cried Philip, putting his hand on his 
companion’s shoulder. “ I did not understand — I do 
not understand now. Your sister? ” 

“ Yes — and yours ! ” 

A ray of light began to penetrate the puzzled brain. 

“ Ah, in the broad sense — a daughter of our mother 
Eve! You can’t imagine how you startled me.” He 
tried to shake of! the depression. “ Well, if accounts 
are true she is a credit to her lineage. I have heard 


25 


RIVERFALL 


much of her — would it be too great a favor to present 
me?” 

Hugh glanced with momentary suspicion at the other’s 
face. Every lineament showed that its owner belonged 
to what is known as the “ upper class.” He noted, also, 
the elegant clothing, the newest style of every article of 
dress. Then he thought of Ellen and the contrast her 
poor garments would present to such a picture. 

“ Why do you wish to know her ? ” he asked, the smile 
gone from his face. “ You would call her haughty — 
probably think her impolite, if she consented to talk 
with you. She has little love for people in your station. 
Do you know what she considers a ‘ gentleman of 
wealth ’ ? Merely one who has plundered others more 
ignorant or weaker.” 

Breaking off a twig from a willow, Westland chewed 
the end meditatively for a minute. What he had heard 
was certainly novel. A woman earning five or six 
dollars a week applying such terms, even in thought, 
to one who owned the very roof over her head — what 
nonsense ! Still it was well to know if these insane 
ideas were really held by one who had such influence 
with his employes. He was more than ever anxious to 
meet her. 

“ Waiving for the moment the point that I am not 
a ‘ gentleman of wealth ’ but a hardworking man of 
business, Hugh, I don’t see as Ellen’s opinion differs 
very much from those you were giving me an hour ago 
as your own. If it be true that I am an agent of organ- 
ized thievery I ought to bear hearing it even from 
feminine lips.” 


26 


RIVERFALL 


“ You would find it quite different, though, from my 
colloquial manner. When Ellen sees how strongly you 
take the opposite side she may say unpalatable things.” 

W estland was glad of a chance to laugh. His natural 
spirits came to the surface. 

“ Perhaps I should not take the opposite side,” he 
replied, brightly. “ One of the few things I have 
learned since I dropped on to this planet is to be careful 
how I dispute a woman. If Ellen should ‘ accuse me 
of such things it were better my mother had not borne 
me/ as Hamlet remarks, I would listen meekly. If she 
stirred me beyond endurance I would only ‘ roar as 
gently as any sucking dove.’ ” 

Hugh shook his head decidedly. 

“ You have no idea of the things she would say ” 

“ For instance?” 

“ Oh, I can’t pretend to imagine in advance a con- 
versation between two such people as Ellen and you. 
Both are well equipped for an argument, but I assure 
you she wouldn’t come off second best. You would be 
wiser than to try it.” 

“ But, with your assistance, I shall,” answered West- 
land, decidedly. 

“ Let me warn you, then, not to adopt a frivolous vein. 
Hor must you assume a patronizing air, if you wish the 
conversation prolonged more than a minute.” 

Strange words these, from a “ mill-hand ” to the! 
manager of the Great Central Corporation ! Democra- 
tic as he tried to be in his manner, Westland’s face 
flushed. 

“ Have no fear,” he responded, drawing himself up 


2 7 


RIVERFALL 


an inch. “ I shall act as if this la — this woman — was 
in every sense my equal.” 

Hugh’s thoughtful countenance was a study. 

“ She considers herself vastly your superior/’ he re- 
plied calmly. 

Westland wiped his lips with the handkerchief he 
had retained in his fingers. 

“ Indeed ! ” was all he could find to say. 

“ Yes. I might as well prepare you a little, if you 
insist on talking with Ellen. When she meets people 
in her own class she is gentleness itself. When she 
meets one of yours it takes little to bring out her dis- 
dain. I have seen Mr. Baker paying her off on a Satur- 
day night when she would have made an excellent model 
for a statue of Contempt.” 

Westland put the handkerchief into his pocket, re- 
marking laconically — 

“ But she took the money.” 

“ Yes, she took the small part of what she had 
created that he was willing to give her; and as she 
swept it into her purse he could read in her face, as 
in illumined print, ‘ They have kept the lion’s share — 
and this man is a jackal that lives off their plunder.’ ” 

Westland stopped again in the road. He had never 
heard such talk as this. 

“ Mr. Baker must he a most affable man to endure 
that,” said he. “ Were he a mere heartless ‘ tool of 
capital ’ he would have her discharged immediately.” 

It was just as well to carry the war into Africa, he 
thought. He meant to keep his good nature, but there 
were limits. As he finished he saw the brows of his 


28 


RIVERFALL 


companion contract again, and from the blue eyes 
flashed a new gleam. 

“ Discharge her ! Discharge Ellen ! How long do 
you think her people would endure that ? Until she was 
reinstated, not a spindle of these mills would revolve. 
Mr. Baker has arbitrary powers. He can do many 
things, but he knows better than to force that issue.” 

With a great effort Philip Westland controlled him- 
self. What he heard made it seem as if the world had 
suddenly turned upside down. 

“ Are you sure you do not overstate the case ? ” he 
asked icily. 

“ Absolutely. The people of Riverfall have suffered 
great hardships before now, sometimes without a fight 
and sometimes with one. The greed of capital may 
grind them lower yet for all I know — though ” (he 
hesitated) “ I doubt it. But, put them face to face 
with the simple question of whether they will stand 
by Ellen, and not one would budge. Mr. Baker is a bold 
man, but he neverTl do that.” 

Without changing his tone or expression in the 
slightest degree Westland said — punctuating his re- 
marks with extended finger: 

“ A nice state of affairs, if true, in a country that 
calls itself free ! A corporation compelled, whether it 
will or no, to employ a certain person or have its entire 
establishment closed ! Why, there is no greater tyranny 
in Russia ! Our fathers fought Great Britain for in- 
finitely less. Let me tell you solemnly, if Mr. Baker 
came to me with a complaint of what you mention I 
would have this woman discharged instantly. If you 


^9 


RIVEKFALL 


wish to do her a service you can tell her. Understand, 
any conversation she and I may have outside of busi- 
ness hours is another question entirely; I hope and trust 
she will speak then with absolute freedom. But a set 
of mills like those yonder must be run on a system; 
and I will see moss cover the walls, the waterwheels 
go to decay, and the machinery fall into rust before 
any man, woman or child in my employ shall tell me 
how to manage my business ! ” 

The last rays of the autumn sun were reddening the 
western sky, and the chill had fallen on the darkening 
air, but Philip Westland felt it not. In spite of him- 
self he had grown somewhat excited. Hugh Mayfield, 
on the contrary, was imperturbable as ever. 

“ I don’t know as you’d like me to reply to that state- 
ment,” he began slowly. 

“ On the contrary. I have an immense curiosity to 
know what reply can be made to it.” 

“ We must keep good natured,” said Hugh, “ other- 
wise our arguments will do neither any good. I am 
sure you will; and I mean to try to imitate you in that, 
at least. I question then, whether the running of seven 
mills on the product of which thousands of people exist 
is the ‘ business ’ of any one man or hundred men. I 
have an idea that it is the ‘ business ’ of every person 
who works there. If an official, for a fancied injury to 
his feelings, deprives an employe of the chance to earn 
her bread he can deprive as many others as he pleases. 
Naturally all are concerned. Their rights are identical.” 

Westland bowed stiffly. 

“ People have a right in this world to do anything 


3° 


RIVERFALL 


they can,” he said impressively. “ The employes of my 
mills have a right to quit work if I discharge one of 
their number for conduct subversive to discipline. But 
if they all went out, and stayed out till the surface of 
Sheol became congealed, they could never force me to 
employ such a person again. No , not if it took my last 
dollar ! ” 

Notwithstanding the impetuosity of the speaker, and 
the sharpness of his language, Hugh’s smile met him as 
he finished. 

“ To return to the original question,” he said, “ you 
will do well not to talk like that to Ellen.” 

“ Why ? Is she dangerous ? ” 

“ In argument — yes. Unless you adopt broader 
ground she will soon get the better of you. You are on 
controversial soil that to her is only the alphabet of 
this matter.” 

“ And the burden of her song will be, I suppose, 
the oppression of the honest laborer by the bloated 
capitalist,” replied Westland, trying to resume his 
ordinary manner. “ Well, I am ready to meet her. It 
is not very ancient history that the bloated laborer de- 
prived the honest capitalist of a year’s income from his 
money, in this very village. More than one family was 
seriously inconvenienced in the loss of income that en- 
sued.” 

The two men were walking slowly now, and it would 
be hard to say which was more interested in the argu- 
ment they were having. Hugh, as his companion 
paused, asked quietly what was the source of the in- 
come to which Mr. Westland referred. 


3i 


%IVEI(FALL 


“ Mill stocks, left for tlieir support bj husbands and 
fathers.” 

“ And where did the husbands and fathers get those 
stocks ? ” 

“ Where ? Bought them, of course — and paid for 
them ! ” 

“ Of whom ? ” 

“ Why, of people who had them to sell.” 

“ But where did the original owners get them? ” per- 
sisted Hugh doggedly. 

Westland looked sharply at the speaker. Was he 
trying to perpetrate a joke at his expense ? 

“ I only want to prepare you a little for what you may 
expect of Ellen,” continued Hugh. “ She will demand 
that you go back to first principles. If I find you in the 
possession of property that my great-granduncle willed 
to my great-grandfather, and of which he never was 
honestly dispossessed, I can oust you from your claim, 
no matter how many false deeds lie between us. There- 
fore, I wish to know how these stocks became the prop- 
erty of your unfortunate widows and orphans. Ellen 
would be sure to make the same inquiry.” 

Westland was quite calm now. His hat was tipped 
back on his forehead, and he had his hands clasped be- 
hind his back, while an incredulous expression played 
around the corners of his mouth. 

“ I would say to Ellen, as I say to you,” said he, “ that 
the laws of this Commonwealth are sufficient to decide 
such questions, for all the vagaries theorists may bring 
to bear. The ownership of those shares is as well settled 
as that of the gowns and bonnets she professes to call 
hers.” 




RIVERFALL 


“ Ah! ” cried Mayfield. “ Perhaps so. But you for- 
get one important thing — the law cannot establish their 
value, which is the important point after all.” 

A new thought had evidently penetrated the brain of 
the manufacturer, for he made no response for a mo- 
ment. 

“ Their value,” Mayfield proceeded to explain, “ de- 
pends on their power to produce dividends. A stock that 
fails in that particular ceases to be desirable from the 
capitalistic point of view. The employes of this cor- 
poration can destroy your dividends any year they 
please. Does not this show that running the mills is 
not alone the ‘ business ’ of the alleged owners, but of 
the people who do the work, as well ? ” 

“ Very ingenious, upon my word ! ” was the pleasant 
rejoinder. “ But really, as a man who, I suppose, means 
to be honest, have you not forgotten one important 
thing? Do not the employes agree that a stipulated 
wage, paid regularly, shall compensate them for their 
part in producing the cloth we make? What, in law 
or reason, entitles them to the earnings of that other 
great factor, called capital? If they don’t like the 
prices offered, why do they apply for places ? There are 
always more applicants than positions. I tell you, my 
dear fellow, the American workingman would be better 
off if all the agitators and theorists were shipped to 
Siberia ! ” 

The merry laugh of the mill-hand met this earnest 
statement. 

“ Tell that to Ellen and see what she will say,” said 
he. “ I have gone much further with the discussion 


33 


RIVERFALL 


than I intended, and no doubt have trenched on her 
particular ground. I was rather afraid to have you 
meet her, but your good nature seems able to stand con- 
siderable strain. When shall I say you would like the 
interview ? ” 

“ The sooner the better. Why not this evening — 
why not now ? As it is Sunday we shall have plenty of 
time. She won’t object to talking because it’s the first 
day of the week, will she ? ” 

Hugh looked as if he did not understand the question. 

“ Why should she? ” he asked. “ The welfare of the 
people she loves better than her life is Ellen’s religion. 
I will take you there immediately, if you like. She will 
need no preparation. Come ! ” 


3 


34 


RIVERFALL 


hi 

As the two men entered the narrow streets of River- 
fall village their appearance together created a sensa- 
tion. People in groups ceased conversation and stared 
open-mouthed as they approached, turning toward each 
other in mute wonder when they saw that the acting- 
president and their comrade were really walking to- 
gether in the most familiar manner. Half -grown chil- 
dren ran to tell their parents indoors, and faces soon 
filled the windows along the route. Even young couples 
who found time on this one day of the week to loiter in 
each other’s company forgot the “ old, old story,” and 
gave themselves up to the new wonder. 

The rich “ aristocrat ” who represented all the wealth 
of the manufacturing village was actually strolling with 
one of his humble employes, as if it were the most 
natural thing in the world ! Surely that was astounding 
enough to give Riverfall something to think and talk 
about. 

“ If a circus had come to town,” said Westland, in a 
low voice, “ it could hardly attract more attention than 
we seem to be doing. Are you or am I responsible for 
this excitement ? ” 

“ Both,” was the reply. “ That is, the fact that we 
are together. The question uppermost in every mind 
is, ‘ What does it mean ? ’ I suppose no manager of the 
mills has walked along a public street here with a work- 


35 


RIVERFALL 


ingman in his holiday clothes, within the memory of 
any one.” 

Westland looked somewhat uneasy at the houses 
where his employes lived, which seemed to him even less 
attractive than he had thought them. Unfaced brick, 
monotonously red, or wood painted in colors selected 
with an eye to durability rather than attractiveness, 
gave them a hard appearance. Places to cook and sleep 
in they undoubtedly were, but who could apply to 
them that bright English word “ home % ” Like many 
others in the factory towns of America the rent of these 
tenements was sufficient to pay their full cost every 
five years. Nothing in the way of modern improve- 
ments, hardly a thing, in fact, but walls, floors and chim- 
neys, went into their construction. Many of the entry- 
ways were open, and as the manager stole glances into 
the interiors the sight was not pleasant. Generally a 
bare floor, or a piece of faded carpet met his gaze. 
Children not too clean of face, poorly dressed and often 
badly nourished ; women sluttish of costume, men surly 
of feature. 

He could hardly repress a cry when Hugh entered 
one of these buildings and proceeded to climb the 
rickety stairs. He felt like exclaiming, “ Surely she 
does not live here ! ” but the words died on his lips. 
On the third floor were the two rooms used by the 
woman who, he had been told, could dispute with him 
the control of three thousand spinners and weavers, 
and he was decidedly uneasy as he stopped with May- 
field at her door and heard his gentle tap on the panel. 

Westland had never seen Ellen, and his preconceived 




RIVERFALL 


notions illy prepared him for what met his gaze. He 
saw a beautiful youug creature, about five feet, six 
inches in height, with a most engaging countenance, and 
a form that approached perfection; dark and expressive 
eyes, that looked anything but dangerous as she smiled 
upon her callers, and made way for them to enter ; heavy 
masses of dark hair arranged becomingly upon a queenly 
head; a complexion fresh as an apple blossom; slender 
hands (these he noticed instantly) that might have been 
elegant but for the effect of millwork ; a plain cambric 
dress, with linen collar and cuffs; and a stateliness of 
carriage that seemed quite out of place with her station 
and surroundings. 

“ Ellen,” began Hugh, “ I have brought Mr. West- 
land here at his own request. He wants to know you; 
I want you to know him. He is a thoroughly con- 
scientious representative of our enemies the capitalists, 
and I hope you will convert him.” 

A slight cloud passed over the young’s woman’s face 
as she listened, a cloud she seemed endeavoring to drive 
away. 

“ You are very welcome, sir,” she said to Westland, 
with a bow, “ but unfortunately I am hardly in condition 
to talk to any one.” (The mill manager noticed that her 
voice was as engaging as her countenance.) “ Mr. 
Baker has employed three more of our little children 
who ought to be at school, and his reply to my protest 
shows that he intends to keep them at work. He seems 
to care nothing for the plain letter of the law — and I 
don’t know why he should, as the authorities never 
seriously interfere with him. The parents of these 


KIVERFALL ££5S£B5£5S£S5££^^SSS J 7 

children are French-Canadians and want their wages. 
The youngest is nine and the eldest thirteen.” She 
turned the full beauty of her dark eyes upon her audi- 
tor. “ Too young, is it not, sir, to begin a life like ours, 
a life they will probably relinquish only for the grave ? ” 

The visitor found himself plunged into argument 
sooner than he expected. He knew that the laws against 
employing young children were constantly violated in 
his mills, and he had heard his uncle’s excuse for it — 
that they were better off indoors than roaming the 
streets and learning evil from bad companions. 

“ I beg your pardon,” he answered, in his most polite 
tones, “ if the parents of these children need their wages, 
what remedy would you suggest ? Hunger must be 
satisfied.” 

The lovely eyes grew stern. The handsome mouth 
hardened. 

“ Do you contend, sir, that it is an equitable rate of 
wages which does not provide infants with the bare 
necessaries of life ? ” 

He was in for it, and his answer came quickly : 

“ How many children has this Canadian ? If he is 
like the rest of them he has very likely a dozen or more. 
Would the Corporation be justified, in that case, in pay- 
ing him proportionate wages as compared with a man 
who has two children or none ? ” 

A strange idea came into his brain as he saw the 
mobile face assume another pose. This girl in the cam- 
bric dress was pitying him. 

“ But where is our great mother, the State ! ” she 
cried, throwing back her head superbly, and pointing 


3$ 


RIVE UFA LL 


one of her long fingers in his direction. “ The State 
claims our allegiance; it can take our last penny for its 
revenues; it can draft our brothers into its armies; it can 
punish our treason with death ! Every child that is bom 
adds to its strength and glory. Shall it then demand 
our all, and give back nothing? Mr. Baker is only a 
man , limited in his powers by the greedy capitalists who 
employ him; but the State is a god! It has the power to 
protect its children ! ” 

She paused and stretched her arms above her head 
while tears fringed her long eyelashes. “ We who make 
the State,” she exclaimed, almost in a wail, “ how long 
must we appeal to it in vain ! ” 

To Westland this was most impressive, but not in the 
least convincing. In his mind the question at issue did 
not call for heroics, but for plain principles. There 
were many times in the affairs of this world where it 
would be very convenient if two and two made five, but 
that did not alter the facts of arithmetic. He knew 
practically nothing of the claims of Socialism, and would 
have ridiculed the idea that manufacturing could be 
carried on by the government with anything like suc- 
cess. He found himself more at ease now that she had 
taken this course. 

“ I shall be glad to discuss the entire question with 
you whenever you have sufficient leisure,” he remarked. 
“ I should like to go to the bottom of the matter, which 
seems to me rather deep. I desire to hear everything 
you have to say in relation to a subject important to both 
of us. Keither may be able to convince the other, but 
we ought in an honest discussion to get new ideas.” 


39 


RIVE I( FALL 


Ellen’s features relaxed as she listened. 

“ Would next Wednesday evening suit you?” she 
asked. “ My sick patients will take all my time to- 
morrow and Tuesday. There are always a number of 
persons,” she explained, “ broken down under their 
work, whom I take to a certain extent under my care. 
I could not think of disappointing them. Wednesday, 
after nine o’clock, I shall be free.” 

“ I will meet you at that hour. And — would it in- 
convenience you to come to the Agency ? Hugh would 
pilot you, I am sure, and see you safe back.” 

“ I will come there, if you desire,” was the quick re- 
sponse, “ but I need no escort, in either direction. I 
have all Riverfall for my bodyguard,” she added, some- 
what proudly. “ Ho person has ever offered to molest 
me.” 

As soon as they were out of the house Westland 
turned to his companion with enthusiasm : 

“ What a beauty ! ” he exclaimed. “ She would adorn 
a palace ! I never saw a more queenly air. And yet 
I suppose she would not give up her position as head 
of these operatives for a mansion on Fifth Avenue. A 
strange eccentricity ! ” Then, after a moment’s pause, 
he added, more soberly, “ She will probably work on 
till she grows old and faded, with never a husband or 
child to adore her.” 

“ Good-night,” said Hugh, abruptly. They had 
reached a comer. 

“ Good-night.” 

Philip looked a little astonished at the rapidly vanish- 
ing figure. “With all his intelligence,” he mused, “ that 


40 


a FJVERFALL 


fellow has a woeful lack of manners. He evidently 
shares Ellen’s views, and in his heart considers me a 
cruel taskmaster who willfully grinds him in the dust. 
There’ll not be much gained by talking to either of them, 
I fear.” 

He quickened his step and soon had mounted the 
eminence on which the handsome buildings of the 
Agency stood. Lights were in so many of the rooms 
that he wondered if company had arrived. As he 
stepped into the hallway he saw a tall, coal-black serv- 
ing man who had been with John Westland for years. 

“ Who’s here, Amos ? ” he asked. 

“ Ho one but Miss Edna, sah,” was the answer, de- 
livered in a low tone. The negro came closer. “ It’s 
’cause of de lights, sah, ain’t it, dat you asks? She 
done tole me to light ’em all up, sah, so ’twould look 
bright an’ cheery when you come home.” 

Philip sighed. There was something pathetic in this 
thought of his blind cousin, and who had never seen the 
sun since she was a little child. As he hung his hat and 
coat on the rack he heard the rustle of skirts, and the 
object of his thoughts came through the doorway, touch- 
ing the furniture in her path to guide her steps. She 
was nineteen, pretty in spite of her misfortune, and 
dressed in deep black. 

“ I heard you on the walk,” she said, joy beaming 
in her pale face. u Did you notice how bright the 
house was? I know it’s lonely for you since papa 
went away, and I wanted to make it as cheerful as I 
could.” 

He put his arm around the slender figure and drew 


RIVERFALL 


4-1 


the girl close. As his moustache touched her cheek, she 
divined that he was in a thoughtful mood. 

u What is it ? ” she asked. “ Something has saddened 
you. Sit by me on the sofa and tell me your troubles.” 

“ Troubles ? ” he echoed. “ You are mistaken. I 
have only been thinking a little harder than usual. 
Nothing is the matter; nothing at all. I wish, dear, 
you had as little trouble in this world as I.” 

“ When by your side I am perfectly happy,” she an- 
swered, smiling again. “ It is only when you are away 
that the time drags. Where have you been for the past 
three hours ? I have heard you say there was nothing 
in Riverfall worth seeing, out of this house and your 
counting-room. As it is Sunday I know you have not 
been at work, at least.” 

“ No.” He gave no further answer for the moment, 
but added, “ Play me something, dear. It is a week 
since I have heard your violin.” 

She sprang up and took the instrument from an ad- 
jacent table. Had her sight been perfect she could not 
have handled it with more ease. The manner in which 
she held her bow showed her love for the task. Soon 
music floated out upon the air, filling it with low sweet 
sounds. She was mistress of an art too rare among 
American ladies, and her cousin was soon under the 
charm of the melody. He lay back and dreamily 
watched the striking face that bent over the violin, and 
the long, slender fingers, plentifully adorned with rings, 
that plied the bow. The loose sleeves revealed some 
space of forearm, whose delicate white flesh appealed to 
his sense of refinement. 


42 


RIVERFALL 


“ Do you know that tune ? ” she asked, when she 
came to a pause. 

“No. Is it new? You lulled me into such a com- 
plete reverie that I had almost ceased to think.” 

“ I was attracted to the name ; so sweet, so full of the 
land I have always wanted to visit. The title is ‘ Love 
in Italy. ? Philip, when are you going to take me 
there ? ” 

He drew his hand across his forehead, absently. 
“ Oh, sometime; when — when your father is able to go 
with us.” 

“ It will be full of wonderful things — ‘ that some- 
time 9 of yours. But poor papa ! I fear he will not be 
able to take a journey across the ocean soon. I have 
always wanted so much to be in Italy. I can scent in 
imagination its balmy air. I can hear the glad notes 
of its song birds. I can imagine the gondolas, gliding 
through the water with the easy motion of swans. I can 
feel the delicious breezes of the Adriatic. I have 
dreamed of these things from childhood — yes, ever since 
you used to write home about them, when you were 
only a boy; and sometime — yes, sometime, you and I 
will experience them together ! ” 

She threw her arms in cousinly affection around his 
neck and drew his head down to her lips. 

“ You must not forget,” he said, “ that we are no 
longer children. You and I have not noticed the passing 
years, but these privileges we permit ourselves would 
have to be much curtailed on a journey.” 

Her face wore a disappointed look, and she nestled 
her head against his broad shoulder. 


RIVERFALL 


43 


“ You can conjure up hobgoblins, but they do not 
frighten me,” she answered. “ There are secluded villas 
in the country, away from the big hotels, where we can 
go. There are waiting maids who speak no English, 
and understand no more than one desires. I have not 
been listening to all those Italian stories in the book- 
case yonder for nothing.” 

He took out his watch, and her countenance fell. 

“ Don’t do that ! ” she pleaded. “ It is early and I 
shall be so lonesome if you go to your room. Talk to 
me. I never knew you so taciturn. What has happened 
during your walk to put you in this mood ? ” 

He drummed for several seconds with his fingers on 
the sofa arm. Then he straightened up. 

“ I have had a strange experience. I have been with 
a young fellow named Mayfield, one of my spinners, to 
see a woman whom my employes recognize as the 
supreme head of their union. She talked to me as 
no one ever did before. She thinks that as manager 

of these mills I am the agent of a band of robbers ” 

“ Oh, Philip!” 

(( Well, not in the sense you understand, perhaps. 
It is the labor question reduced to its lowest terms, but 
that is what it amounts to. I had never been brought 
so close to one of its advocates before.” 

“ Hut — surely such ideas are fallacious to the last 
degree. You don’t mean that this woman has infected 
you with her notions ? ” 

“ She has impressed me. She is a remarkable person. 
Hext Wednesday evening she is to come here to con- 
tinue the conversation, and you shall meet her if you 
wish.” 


u 


RIVERFALL 


F eminine instinct dictated the next words. 

“ Describe her.” 

Like most men he could give little hut generalities. 
She was grand, magnificent, queenly; this he said and 
then stopped. In answer to her curious queries he ad- 
mitted that he could not tell the color of Ellen’s hair 
or eyes, nor guess at her height or weight. 

“ She was dressed in the commonest clothing,” he 
went on, in a sort of a daze. “ Her gown was cheap 
print, and you must remember that this is Sunday, her 
one holiday. Her chamber was bare of furniture, but 
there were birds in cages, and flowers, and a few books 
and pictures. Fifteen or twenty dollars, I should say, 
w r ould buy everything there.” 

The blind girl’s next query was a natural one. She 
judged strangers so much by their tones. 

“ Her voice — masculine and rough, I suppose ? ” 

“ On the contrary, winning and gentle. Even when 
she is displeased the chords are full of music.” 

Miss Westland threw up her hands with a sigh. 

“ Ah, Philip ! ” she cried, “ you are in love with this 
factory girl. I know you are going to deny it, and you 
may be honest in your denial, but it is true! Don’t 
answer me for a minute. Search your heart before you 
speak.” 

He smiled upon the earnest face before him. When 
a full minute had elapsed he said 

“ After a careful survey of my most vital organ, I 
find no love for Ellen — nor for any other woman.” 
Then, seeing he had hurt her, he added, placing a hand 
on her shoulder, “ Do not misunderstand : There are 


RIVERFALL 


45 


women whom I esteem highly, one for whom I enter- 
tain sentiments of cousinly affection. But I never was — 
never can be — in love. I have told you that so often, 
Edna, you should believe me.” 

The pensive expression on her face deepened, but she 
remained silent. Soon he continued : 

“ I am a man of business now; I have no time for 
love. Dividends must be looked for, rents collected, 
trusts carried out. There is a possibility of another big 
strike. If it comes and lasts long it will entail heavy 
losses to my friends, yourself among the number. I 
fear there will be something more important to claim 
my attention this winter than affairs of the heart. As 
for you, my child, would you not find more to interest 
you in the city than in this lonesome place, while your 
father is away ? ” 

Her breath came quick and short, and she shook her 
head quickly. 

“ Ho ! ” she exclaimed. “ I will not go. How could 
I pass days and weeks without the sound of your voice, 
without the touch of your hand ? If you remain here, so 
shall I. What do those terrible operatives want now ? ” 
she added, when he had moved a little away. 

“ Ellen says they want a fairer share of what they 
earn.” 

“ And they think they can get more by striking ! 
The last time they stopped work, I’ve heard papa say, 
the Corporation paid no dividend. I presume they’ll 
want to assess us next, for their benefit. What can 
they be thinking of ? ” 

“ That’s what I mean to find out,” he replied, reflec- 


46 


RIVERFALL 


tively. “ That’s why I went to see Ellen; that’s why 
I’ve invited her to come here. The most remarkable 
woman I ever met! Yon must be in the room when 
she presents her case, and see if you do not agree with 
me. But I have several letters to write/’ he added, 
“ and that will bring all sensible members of this house- 
hold to their bedtime hour.” 

He walked to a window, drew back the shade and 
looked on the moonlit lawn. Then he returned to his 
cousin’s side, placed his arm around her, pressed a kiss 
to her cheek and left the room. 


RIVERFALL 


47 


IV 

J ohn W estland had had two brothers, both of whom 
were now deceased. One was, as has been stated, the 
father of Philip, and the other had died a bachelor. His 
only sister had married a gentleman named Melbourg, 
who went through life so rapidly that at thirty he left a 
young widow dependent upon her relations for support, 
although a goodly sum of money had come to him from 
his ancestors. This sister died shortly before the open- 
ing of this story, leaving a son named Ralph, whose 
uncle, Abner Westland, had bequeathed him some prop- 
erty, but under the guardianship of his cousin, Philip, 
who, though still young, was deemed prudent enough 
for such a trust. 

On the previous Saturday Philip had thought it wise 
to write a letter to this young man, foreshadowing the 
possibility of a strike, which he had come to think was 
more than likely to occur, and to suggest that a curtail- 
ment of certain extravagances in his manner of living 
had best be made without delay, in view of the prospect 
of a reduced income. Ralph was of a type often found 
in our large cities. He had fallen into habits of light 
dissipation, and having little idea of business, considered 
life as something to be passed in the pleasantest possible 
manner. 

It is one of the worst effects of our system of in- 
heritance that aggregation of wealth in few hands not 


48 


RIVERFALL 


only robs the producer of a large share of the results of 
toil, but destroys the useful energy of those to whom 
great fortunes are bequeathed. It is a popular theory 
that a young gentleman whose ancestors have provided 
him with enough to live upon does wisely in keeping 
out of the overcrowded channels of trade. “ Let him 
live as becomes his station/’ say the wiseacres. “ Why 
should he struggle to increase a store already large 
enough for his needs ? ” 

The man of elegant leisure, living comfortably on his 
income, seems to many to have reached the ideal state. 
He who has thus lived from childhood, without the least 
exertion of hand or brain, is regarded as in the highest 
sense, a “ gentleman.” Let no laborer’s son, with grimy 
hands or tired head, presume to dispute his title. And 
if the young heir chooses to spend some of his money 
in “ sowing wild oats,” whose business is it ? He pays 
his bills, doesn’t he? 

This popular impression regarding the rights of in- 
herited wealth is old as history. But the present writer 
hazards the prediction that the public mind is to under- 
go a change; that the possession of a great fortune will 
bring new obligations ; and that more equitable laws will 
make it impossible for any man to become a Colossus, 
under whose huge legs the majority must crawl for the 
privilege of sharing the fruits of an earth a beneficent 
Providence created for all alike. 

(These few thoughts may, perhaps, be offered by the 
novelist without causing him to be accused of posing as 
a dangerous reformer; at the worst he need only be 
charged with pausing to indite a sermon in the midst of 


49 


RIVERFALL 


a history. And now let us return to our sheep, which 
in this instance happens to be Mr. Melbourg.) 

By the will of his uncle, Ralph could only claim the 
income of his property until he was twenty-three years 
of age. Philip’s letter had, therefore, disturbed him 
greatly. He had spent nearly the last dollar he had 
been permitted to draw, and the prospect of having the 
figure lowered was very discouraging. 

“ What’s this confounded stuff you’ve been writing 
me, Phil ? ” he exclaimed, bursting into his cousin’s 
office one morning. “ I’m hardly able to exist now on 
$200 a week. What should I do with that sum cut in 
two, or, in fact, reduced at all? You must make some 
arrangements with these operatives — give in a little at 
some point or other, and avoid a general strike at all 
hazards.” 

Westland laughed at the boy, for such he always 
called him. A handsome young fellow he was, with 
curling hair, dark eyes and good figure. The excitement 
of the moment had brought a vivid color to his fair 
cheek. 

“ I’m afraid you’re an extravagant young rogue,” he 
answered, smiling pleasantly. “ You’ve laid up nothing 
for a rainy day, then ? ” 

“ Extravagant ! ” echoed Ralph, contemptuously. 
“ Why, look at Astorfelt, my chum, who has $1,500 a 
month, and more if he wants it, while I have to pinch 
along on a measly eight hundred. Do you think I can 
associate with decent people, and get a fat bank account 
on enough to feed a cat ? ” 

“ Astorfelt’s family goes back several generations. 


4 


a KIVEKFALL 


50 


He liad a great-grandfather. You date from jour 
mother’s second cousin.” 

“ Oh / ” An expression of disgust covered the 

young man’s face. “ I can’t live on less than $200 a 
week, and there’s no use talking about it. If the mills 
pass a dividend you’ll have to give me something out of 
my principal. What difference will it make, when the 
whole will be mine in less than two years, anyway ? ” 
To this Philip responded, in a manner which admitted 
of no misunderstanding, that Ralph might as well ask 
him to break into the sub-treasury as to touch one penny 
of Abner Westland’s money till the right time came. 

“ Then, if the income on those devilish stocks drops 
to zero, I suppose I’m to starve. to death ! ” 

“ Perhaps, in such a dire contingency, the courts 
would intervene. As for me, I am sworn to follow a 
certain line of policy, from which I cannot deviate. 
But what do you do with $800 a month? I’d like to 
see an accurate account of your expenses.” 

The suggestion brought the least trace of a blush to 
Kalph’s face. He twisted the ends of a moustache that 
was hardly long enough to make the task an easy one. 

“ You know, Phil,” he said, “a young chap who wants 
to see anything of life finds money slipping away from 
him all the time. I have to live in a suite of rooms, don’t 
I ? I must dine once in a while. I take an occasional spin 
on the road — in a hired rig — I can’t afford to own one, 
let alone an auto, which every one has but me. I may 
sometimes want a box at the theatre, and I’ve been 
known to wear clothes. How much will $200 a week 
do after paying for these things? And there’s one 


5i 


RIVERFALL 


credit you must give me, I don’t run deeply in debt.” 

Philip looked at him quizzically. 

“ There’s another expense you’ve forgotten,” he said. 

“No, hang it!” was the sharp reply. “I know 
better than to tie a millstone around my neck. But, 
say, what about this strike ? It’s not settled yet there’s 
to be one, is it ? ” 

“ No, but it looks mighty squally. Uncle is against 
any concession whatever. He thinks the best way is to 
refuse everything and fight it out. Now, as most of 
your property is in the plant, if we pay no dividend for 
a year you’ll have not over $50 a week to spend.” 

Ralph uttered an ejaculation of horror. 

“ Pifty dollars ! ” he exclaimed. “ That wouldn’t 
pay my tailor.” 

“ It would pay mine,” responded the other soberly. 
“ In fact my expenses are not much over fifty dollars 
a week, the whole year through.” 

“ Oh, but you’re so — so steady, you know. You stick 
right to business, and you’ve nothing to spend money 
for. You don’t need clothes, nor go to entertainments, 
and you never have to buy wine. Hang these fellows 
who make wills ! Uncle Abner lived like a miser all his 
life, and he must needs put me on this starvation allow- 
ance, when he is in his grave, where I can’t appeal to 
him.” 

At this the elder man frowned a little. 

“ Supposing he had left you nothing ? ” he suggested. 

“We would have had a double funeral, that’s all. I 
couldn’t do anything to earn a dollar, if I starved to 
death. They said at school I’d never amount to any- 


52 


RIVERFALL 


thing in a business or professional way. This legacy 
of a quarter of a million was all that stood between me 
and beggary. If I could get hold of the main slice 
I’d be all right as it is, though I suppose if there’s a 
strike the value of our stocks will tumble awfully.” 

Attention from the long face which accompanied this 
statement was drawn in another moment by the sound 
of a sweet voice. Across the lawn the music was borne 
from the residence to the office where the acting-presi- 
dent of the mill Corporation did his work. 

“ She misses her father so much ! ” said Philip. 
There was a vein of sadness in his tone. 

“ When will he return? ” 

“ Never, I fear. Yes — be careful you don’t let Edna 
know I think so — it is unlikely we’ll see Uncle John 
alive again, Ealph. You can’t think how feeble he was 
when he went away. What will become of that poor 
child when she has him no longer ! ” 

“ She’ll always have you.” Ealph spoke in a more 
softened tone than he had yet used. 

“ No, not always. As soon as the right man can be 
found to run the business I’m going to get out. I only 
stayed to please uncle, because he pleaded with me so 
hard.” 

A puzzled expression contracted the brows of the 
other as he listened. 

“ But, you and Edna are engaged, aren’t you ? ” he 
asked. “ You are going to get married — sometime?” 

Philip was so disturbed by this statement that he rose 
to his feet. He asked whatever put such a preposterous 
idea into Ealph’s head. 


53 


RIVERFALL 


“ Why, I never had any doubt about it; and between 
ns, Phil, I don’t think Edna has. I’ve never found you 
together that your arm hasn’t been about her, and you 
always kiss her exactly like the lovers I’ve seen on the 
stage and read of in books. When she’s in Hew York 
and gets a letter from you her joy is beyond words; 
when she knows you are coming her excitement is evi- 
dent to all the house ; and after you go again she’s triste 
for days.” 

Philip moved uneasily in his chair and tried once or 
twice to stop this impetuous flow of words. 

“ You are entirely mistaken,” he replied, as soon as 
he was permitted to speak, “ in all of your suppositions, 
except that Edna and I are the best of friends. We 
are, in fact, quite like brother and sister. Her blind- 
ness keeps her in the childlike frame of mind which 
vents itself in caresses and delights in fondling. If you 
were half good enough for her — which you are not — I 
should say the wisest thing for all concerned would be 
a marriage between you two. Ho,” he added, quickly, 
as he saw that it was now Ralph’s turn to be uneasy, 
“ I would not think of such a union with the trifling 
young idler you have been up to date. Had you steady 
habits and a business head it would be another matter. 
Edna will have a large fortune and will be open to the 
proposals of designing men unless her future is arranged 
by those who love her best. I wish from my heart you 
were a little different, Ralph. You may be what the 
world calls wild, but you’ve nothing really bad about 
you, I’m sure. You’d never wilfully injure the feelings 
of a wife, if you had one, and I think marriage — to the 
right woman — might be the making of you.” 


54 


RIVERFALL 


The young man paled and reddened by turns during 
the delivery of this speech. He opened and closed his 
palms nervously, and stirred in his seat. 

u I’m greatly obliged for your sermon/’ he replied, 
with an attempt at irony. “ When I want your advice 
I’ll ask for it. As for marriage, if it were not for this 
cursed cut-down in my income which you say is impend- 
ing I’d be a married man before this month is over.” 

“ What! ” cried Philip. “ You’ve gone and engaged 
yourself without letting us know a thing about it ! Well, 
you are a sly dog. Come, don’t look so sulky; tell me 
who she is. Upon my word, I’m rather glad, you know.” 

A look out of the window, and a shuffle of feet on the 
floor was the only answer. 

“ I’m going to guess : One of the Crowninshield 
girls?” 

Ralph’s shoulders were shrugged, and his back was 
turned a little more on the questioner. 

“ Miss Gwynne — the younger one? Ho? Bob Pan- 
ning’s sister Grace ? Say, have you been lucky enough 
to catch Grace Fanning ? ” 

“ Ho, I haven’t, thank the Lord ! ” snapped the other 
angrily, still keeping his back turned. 

“ George ! Why didn’t I think of it ? Your financial 
needs have set your gaze a little higher. Miss Vander- 
schmidt, by all that’s ” 

Ralph rose from his chair and turned wrathfully on 
his cousin. 

“ Haven’t you got anything better to do than make 
fun of me ! ” he exclaimed, now thoroughly angry. “ A 
beggar marrying the heiress of sixty millions ! I didn’t 


353 55 


RIVERFALL 


mean to say a word, but you might as well know, for 
your opinion will make no difference one way or the 
other. I’m going to marry — as soon as I’m sure of 
enough to buy bread and cheese with — a girl who hasn’t 
two dresses to her back, who never went through a gram- 
mar school, who hasn’t a relation, good or bad, in the 
whole world ! That’s what I’m going to do, Phil West- 
land!” 

It was now the mill manager’s turn to look distressed. 
He felt a strong affection for his young cousin, even 
though he liked occasionally to banter him; and this 
statement, made with too much sincerity to be doubted, 
worried him. 

“ Some day, when you’re in a mood to talk calmly, I 
hope you’ll give me a few minutes to discuss this sub- 
ject with you,” he said impressively. “ It is a great 
deal more serious, I’m afraid, than you realize.” 

“ Why ? Because Nathalie is poor and without rela- 
tions and has to work for a living ? It’s not you who’s 
going to marry her, remember! She’s got a dowry in 
goodness and beauty — and affection — that’s worth more 
than all the V anderschmidt railroads, or the Fanning 
mines ! And I’ll marry her, even if I have to buy a 
pick and shovel and get a job on the streets, you see 
if I don’t!” 

The picture of his fashionably dressed young cousin 
employed at the labor suggested was too much for Philip. 
He burst into a hearty laugh, and after trying to look 
angrier yet at this, Ralph was forced to join him. 

“ Do me one favor at least,” said Westland, when he 
grew sober again, “ promise not to carry out your plan 




RIVER FALL 


until we can have a friendly talk in relation to it. Per- 
haps when I have heard your story in full we may agree 
your idea is wise, but at first thought it’s a trifle start- 
ling. Of course you wouldn’t think of marrying any 
woman without first introducing her to Edna and me, 
the only relations you’ve got, except Uncle John, in the 
world. It has been my hope, I will admit, that you and 
Edna would eventually ” 

“ That’ll do ! ” interrupted his cousin. 

“ I’m afraid so. I’m afraid you will never become 
good enough to make it reasonable, for no man shall 
marry Edna, with my consent, simply to break her heart. 
She’s an angel — and an angel, too, who will some day 
have $100,000 a year.” 

Youth, a bright face and well-knit figure well attired 
constitute a handsome picture. Added to this was an 
expression in Ralph Melbourg’s eyes that only first love 
can bring. 

“ You haven’t seen Nathalie,” he answered, softly. 


57 


RIVERFALL 


V. 


On the evening when Ellen was to meet the repres- 
entative of the Eiverfall mill-owners, Hugh Mayfield 
came to her door about eight o’clock, by appointment, 
to accompany her to the Agency. Not because she 
needed a protector in the streets that were filled with 
her fellow workmen, nor because she thought herself 
unequal to representing the side of Labor against Cap- 
ital in the debate she was to have with Mr. Westland; 
but Hugh was her chief of staff and reliable aid in 
dealing with the operatives she had been selected to 
lead. She wanted him to hear all that passed between 
her and their employer, as one who knew both and 
would have much to do in case of a rupture of relations. 

As she answered Hugh’s knock by opening the door 
of her sitting-room the “ mill hand ” removed his hat, 
with the air of one who salutes his sovereign. Ho 
spinner or weaver in Eiverfall ever met Ellen without 
some sign of the high respect with which she was 
regarded, and to none did her person seem more deserv- 
ing of veneration than to her chief lieutenant. Yet 
between these two there was no gulf, such as usually 
divides ruler and subject. They met rather as attached 
friends, adherents of a common cause, believers in the 
same creed, equally confident in the ultimate emancipa- 
tion of their class from the capitalistic yoke. 

Both performed faithfully their day’s work in the 


5 8 RIVERFALL 

mill and devoted their leisure hours to ameliorating the 
present and endeavoring to safeguard the future con- 
dition of their fellow-workmen. Contrary to the cus- 
tom of many “ labor reformers ” neither accepted any 
recompense for their services. They were only too 
happy to aid the cause on which their hearts were set. 

“ Have you heard what the directors did at their 
meeting this afternoon? ” was the immediate inquiry 
of Ellen. 

Hugh marked her anxious expression. 

“ Yes. A cut-down has been ordered, to take effect 
in one week.” 

They seated themselves on opposite sides of a 
common wooden table. Ellen placed her elbows upon 
it and for an instant buried her face in her hands. 

“ They say,” continued Hugh, when she looked up 
again, “ that they have a right to a reasonable dividend 
on their investment, and that the present rate of wages 
does not permit it. I learned this from Carter’s son, 
Mr. Baker’s errand boy, who was in the room during 
the meeting.” 

Ellen’s expressive countenance showed that she 
drank in the utterances of her companion with eager 
interest. Hot a sign of discouragement was visible, 
however. 

“ Was Mr. Westland present? ” she inquired. 

“ Yes.” 

“ Did he have anything to say? ” 

“ Yes. ‘We must teach these people a lesson,’ were 
his words, substantially. ‘ It is time it was settled who 
owns these mills. If our operatives do ? let us abandon 


RIVERFALL 


59 


the property to them; but first we will make the 
test/ ” 

“ It is eighteen centuries since Christ died and we 
still feel the oppressor’s hand, as did His people of old. 
Shall we, therefore, say He lived on earth in vain? Ho, 
Hugh. The seed He planted is surely if slowly bearing 
fruit.” 

He returned the radiant look she gave him. 

“ How hopeful you always are ! ” he exclaimed. “ At 
the darkest hour it is ever to you almost daylight. 
But you have not heard all : ‘ We will inaugurate a 
league of the mill owners/ he said, ‘ so that, when the 
workers in one mill go out, every spindle in the country 
will cease to revolve. If a strike follows this cut-down 
it must be so managed on our part that we never shall 
have another. These people must be given a lesson 
they will not need again in this generation. If neces- 
sary we should lock every door in Riverfall for a year 
or even longer. In former troubles we have seemed 
anxious to resume. The hands knew they could go 
back to work merely by accepting our figures. Hext 
time they must await our pleasure. That will cost us 
something, but we shall profit by it in the end. The 
day has passed when any irresponsible man — or woman 
— should dictate to five millions of capital.’ ” 

When he pronounced the words “ or woman” a stray 
lock of hair fell carelessly across Ellen’s face. She 
had started unconsciously. The throbbings of her full 
bust, innocent of corset, betrayed the effect of the 
story. 

“ What does he think we are — cattle?” 


RIVERFALL 


60 


“ Worse! ” replied Hugh. “ He would not risk the 
lives and health of cattle as he risks ours. Ho flesh is 
as cheap in the market as human flesh. To use the ex- 
pression of the hour, our race is suffering from over- 
production. We are slaves to masters who are not 
even obliged to procure us food. Our condition is as 
bad as that of the Russian serf when he was tied to 
the soil. We have no trade but that of the mills. If 
one company grinds us beyond endurance we can go to 
another — and find the same condition. Well! the cut- 
down has been ordered; what shall we do? ” 

“ Strike ! ” said Ellen, laconically. 

“ At the approach of winter? You see how adroitly 
they have laid their plans.” 

“ We must destroy their profits,” she said with deci- 
sion. “ They are open to no other argument. But 
we will not wait till the date they have set. We will 
send a committee to demand that the cut-down be 
rescinded. If they refuse, or strive by delay to take 
away our slight advantage, I will order every man, 
woman and child to quit work at once.” 

Hugh looked slightly alarmed at the audacity of the 
proposition. 

“ We shall obey you, of course,” he said, lowering 
his head. “ But have you thought of everything? ” 

She clasped her hands spasmodically together. 

“What have I not thought of? Hunger? Cold? 
Hakedness? Suffering women, despairing men? Little 
children crying for food and fire? Yes, I have thought 
of it all. I realize to the full what a long strike means. 
But imagine yourself on a lonely prairie, with your 


RIVERFALL 


61 


larder exhausted and no means of replenishing it from 
any point near by. What would you do — sit down 
and weep? No, you would undertake the journey to- 
ward a land of plenty. The march before you might 
be long; wolves might howl around your campfire; 
the sun might scorch you by day and the dews chill 
you by night — and still you would struggle on. We 
must make a stand right where we are! If they can 
cut the scanty wages we now receive they can cut them 
again, and yet again! If to-day we submit to be 
crushed to the earth, to-morrow we shall be ground in 
the mire. We have no choice but to strike. Our 
people shall be impressed with the full significance of 
the move. As Mr. Westland says, it will be a decisive 
contest.” 

She arose, put on her hat and coat, and they walked 
silently through the town to the Agency. Those who 
met them drew to one side wi,th tokens of respect, but 
no one uttered a word. All the population knew where 
they were going, and wondered if the result would be 
to change the dread edict which had already gone out 
in rumor. As they neared the door they were to enter 
Hugh uttered just one word of warning. 

“ Treat him politely, Ellen. He is a gentleman in 
his manners, after all.” 

She did not reply, but raised her shoulders a little. 
The colored servant showed them into a parlor and 
presently Mr. Westland entered with Miss Westland 
by his side. 

“ My cousin Edna,” he said, completing the intro- 
duction. “ She also is interested in the subject we are 


62 ~ SSSSSSS S~ SS ~~~& RIVERFALL 


to speak about, and I hope you do not object to her 
being present.” 

“ Not in the least,” said Ellen, declining the chair 
which he offered. “ I learn that you have voted to-day 
to make a cut in our wages,” she added, coming directly 
to the point at issue. 

“ Yes,” he answered, somewhat surprised and a little 
annoyed at her manner. “ It has become a case of 
sheer necessity. I think you will hardly claim that 
people who have invested their money here should do 
so without compensation. Or, perhaps you would, 
though? ” he continued. 

Ellen nodded to Hugh, for she felt that she could 
hardly trust herself with speech just then, and he pro- 
ceeded to answer for her : 

“ For at least eight years the Great Central Corpora- 
tion has paid a dividend of twelve per cent, on a capital 
notoriously watered. In other words, the stockholders 
have received sixty per cent, annually on the million 
dollars actually invested here, for which five millions 
of stock has been issued. To-day, owing to various 
causes, none of which are any fault of ours, they may 
be receiving something less. We do not see why we 
should bear the temporary loss in such circumstances.” 

Mr. Westland bowed politely. 

“ Excuse me. It is the duty of the directors to 
decide that matter. If the employes do not wish to con- 
tinue at the new scale of wages, there is no law to com- 
pel them to do so.” 

“ Nor to prevent them going out in a body and re- 
maining out.” 


63 


RIVERFALL 


“ Certainly. Ten years ago that very thing was 
done. A strike took place, during which the Corpora- 
tion lost $400,000, and the employes nearly twice as 
much. At the end of the strike the people returned 
at the wages offered them. As I figure it, the total 
loss was over a million. Perhaps you can tell me what 
was the gain, if any? ” 

As Mayfield kept silence, thinking that Ellen might 
prefer to speak now, Mr. Westland continued: 

“ On account of that strike, as you no doubt can 
guess, the stockholders received no dividend that year, 
but the evil results went farther yet. The product of. 
other mills usurped the place of ours in the markets. 
To this day the injury is not wholly repaired. If the 
people whose reckless folly caused this loss are asked 
to make up a portion of it, how can they call it un- 
just? ” 

“ You contend, then,” said Hugh, “ that these stock- 
holders must have their sixty per cent., even if it comes 
out of our sweat and blood! ” 

Mr. Westland waved away the question with his 
hand. 

“ Fll tell you what my contention is, in a word : That 
I have the right to purchase labor at the market price. 
If the owner of a bale of cotton demands more than I 
consider it worth I will not buy until he comes to 
my terms; if the owner of a day’s work does the same 
I will treat him in like manner. Any other course 
would disrupt the entire fabric of business. I claim 
the right to do the same in one case as in the other! ” 

It was Ellen who answered that. 


64 


RIVERFALL 


* “ When you speak of the ‘ right/ I suppose you 

mean the power” 

“ I mean both/’ answered Westland, without hesita- 
tion. 

She drew herself up and surveyed him from head to 
foot. 

“ You have lived in this world for how long — thirty 
years? ” 

“ About that/’ he answered, opening his eyes wide. 

Her voice came slow and deep. 

“ And what have you ever done — to earn the food 
you have eaten and the clothes you have worn? ” 

He reddened, but smiled too, at the absurdity of the 
question. 

“ Well, for the present I am acting as agent of 
many people in managing their property, and as trustee 
for widows and orphans. I hope I may without im- 
modesty add that my employers have never expressed 
dissatisfaction.” 

“No doubt,” she replied, scornfully; “ no doubt 
you have done well for yourself — and for them. But 
— have you ever earned a penny? Have you ever pro- 
duced anything? Is there a single necessity of life that 
owes its existence to your exertions? ” 

He grew uneasy under her withering gaze. 

“ That is a remarkable series of personal questions,” 
he answered. 

She did not seem to realize that he had spoken, for 
she went on, with half closed eyes: 

“ You have lived thirty years; is any one the better 
or the wiser for it? You have the charge of much 


R/VERFALL 


65 


property and you make it produce the highest possible 
interest; yes, I admit that. It is the same to you if 
some of your employers have more money than they 
will ever need — double what they spend. If the people 
from whom the money comes are terribly poor, and 
draw it out of nearly empty pockets, that does not 
trouble you in the least. Under the law it is due, and 
you collect it. You are acting legally, and our great, 
good, paternal government will support you, even if 
you take a bed from under a child that is dying! ” 

Westland found it difficult to preserve his nonchalant 
demeanor in the face of this severe arraignment, but 
he thought it best not to interrupt. While she did 
not convince, she interested him. 

“ What valuable thing have you done for your race, 
I ask again? ” Ellen went on, her voice shaking. “ Did 
you ever place a potato or a grain of corn in the earth; 
or a seed from which fruit has grown? Have you 
woven a yard of cloth, put a needle into a shoe, levelled 
a tree for firewood? Have you taught children to read, 
given medicine to the sick, dug a grave for the dead? 
Thousands of persons have labored for you; what have 
you done for them ? Nothing! You have lived on the 
product of others’ toil. Take, for example, that suit 
of clothes you are wearing: somebody tended a flock 
of sheep on the plains; somebody sheared their fleeces, 
washed the wool, transported it many miles, carded, 
spun, wove, colored, cut, sewed and pressed it into its 
present shape. It is a handsome suit, but I wonder 
how you can consent to wear what you have never paid 
for! ” 


5 


66 


RIVERFALL 


Hugh started to interrupt the speaker, but with a 
motion of his hand Westland counselled him not to do 
so. Ellen did not offend him, now that he understood 
her. Edna’s attitude, from the sofa where she sat, was 
one of strained and eager attention. 

“ I can think of you as a babe,” continued Ellen, 
looking through, rather than at the object of her re- 
marks. “ Of course, being the child of parents well-to- 
do, you had a nurse who devoted to you her entire time. 
A seamstress sewed on your soft garments. A doctor 
was summoned if you cried. When you grew older 
special tutors instilled into your mind what is to be 
found in certain books. They taught you how to read 
the iniquitous laws of your country; to reckon the com- 
pound interest on four millions of watered stock, at 
twelve per cent, per annum; to write essays on the un- 
accountable increase of crime among the poor. Ser- 
vants attended you still, made your bed, swept your 
chamber, prepared your meals, brought the horses you 
rode, gratified your every necessity. And when you 
reached the age of manhood, did you seek to render 
equal service to other helpless ones? Ho! You were 
a gentleman , God save the mark ! ” She raised her 
arm and pointed her forefinger at him steadily. “ You 
never did anything, you never mean to do anything, to 
help support the great table at which you have eaten! ” 

He listened with unchanging countenance and when 
she paused, he said, with the utmost politeness: 

“ I wonder if you really think it a disreputable pro- 
fession to manage the affairs committed to my charge. 
Eathers and husbands have died with less regret, con- 


RIVERFALL 


67 


fident that a man they believed honest would admin- 
ister the provision made for loved ones. Would you 
counsel me to abandon my wards — to prove unfaithful 
to my trusts? ” 

Without a moment’s hesitation Ellen answered: 

“ The system under which you are acting is totally 
wrong — that is where the trouble begins. Because an 
individual has succeeded in wresting fifty times his 
share from the earth, the mill or the mine, is no reason 
his widow should fold her hands in idleness or his chil- 
dren grow up drones. No child should be deprived of 
education or the innocent enjoyments of youth. By 
what scale of justice must one set of little ones toil in 
the mills of the Great Central Corporation in order 
that another set may live in luxurious ease? The will 
of a millionaire or the fiat of a judge have placed cer- 
tain sons and daughters of wealth under your care, but 
there are other children to whom, more even than 
these, you owe guardianship. Yes, children young and 
children old — your brothers and sisters by the same 
Almighty Father — who will surely hold you to a strict 
reckoning when your account is rendered.” 

The silence that followed deepened the effect of the 
words. 

Mayfield was the first to speak. 

“ I think Ellen will allow me to say that in her ar- 
raignment of Capital she has no intention of being 
severe personally upon Mr. Westland. She has only 
alluded to him, I understand, as representative of a 
class.” 

“ That is all, certainly,” responded Ellen, with no 


RIVERFALL 


68 


trace of animosity. u You are Hugh’s friend and I 
wish you to he mine also. If you carry out your pro- 
posal of cutting the wages of my people we may differ 
for the present, hut I hope with perfect good nature. 
I do you the justice to think you an honest man, acting 
from an erroneous standpoint. If ever your reason is 
convinced I feel certain you will come to our aid.” 

She moved a step toward the door to show that she 
was about to depart. Westland was very sorry to have 
her go, but he had to admit that a longer interview was 
not likely to be productive of a better understanding, 
their views were so diametrically opposed. 

“ I admit that there is a fascination in your 
theories,” he said, walking with his visitors toward the 
hall, “ but your ideas seem to me Utopian. Instead of 
possibilities, we have to face a real problem, and I hope 
the workmen of Riverfall will consider well before 
they do anything rash. The mill owners were never 
so determined as now to run the business on their own 
models.” 

Ellen responded, “ We also are determined,” and as 
he looked into her resolute eyes he could not doubt that 
a great contest was at hand. 

When the door closed behind her he turned to Edna, 
who had risen and bowed to the retreating forms. 

“ Oh, how I wish I could see her! ” she cried, taking 
him nervously by the arm. “ Such strength! Such 
resolution! That woman believes from the bottom of 
her heart that she is right! And she must be mistaken; 
must she not, Philip? There can be no question that 
you have the correct view? ” 


6 9 


RIVE REA LL 


He caressed her with his hands and she added, softly : 

“ If she has the influence they say, and all the people 
stop work, there will he great suffering. What a ter- 
rible responsibility she has chosen to take on her young 
shoulders! ” 


70 


PJVERFALL 


VI. 

Trouble was evidently brewing in Riverfall. Mys- 
terious whisperings were going the round of the em- 
ployes of the Great Central Corporation. Meetings 
were held, lasting till midnight. Treasurer Baker 
commented on the incongruity of spinners and weavers 
who grumbled at u long hours ” sitting up so late and 
still being at work at half-past six in the morning, ap- 
parently as fresh as ever. Mr. Baker believed that it 
was in the nature of mill-hands to grumble, anyway. 
Years ago, when the wages were much higher than 
now, they complained with almost equal energy. They 
always wanted higher pay, or fewer hours, or some- 
thing else, merely because they were a discontented and 
dissatisfied race of people. 

Even the foreigners, who had been the last to join 
in these demonstrations, were getting to be as bad as 
the others. Nobody asked them to come to this 
country, he often said, and if they didn’t like its style, 
why didn’t they go back where they belonged? Did 
you ever hear of a Pole, or a Swede or Armenian re- 
turning to his native land? Never. What was the 
moral, then? Why, that these folks were treated much 
better in America than they ever had been before and 
much better than they should be. 

So said Treasurer Baker, as many good and wise men 
have said before him and are still saying. And he did 


7i 


RIVERFALL 


more than say it — he believed it from the bottom of his 
pocket. 

There was just one employe among his three thous- 
and that Treasurer Baker considered worth his notice, 
outside of their value as adjuncts to his machines. This 
employe was Ellen. Many a morning he came earlier 
to the mills to see her pass through the gates. He fre- 
quented one particular room oftener than the others, 
because she worked there. He thought it silly to slave 
her life away at a loom, with such a figure. He mar- 
velled that she was content to bend her handsome neck, 
year after year, over bobbins and shuttles. There was 
a much easier position which Ellen might attain, unless 
Mr. Baker was mistaken. 

On a certain day, shortly before our story opens, the 
treasurer sent for Ellen to come to his office on a pre- 
tended errand in connection with her work. When he 
had finished his reference to the point at issue he asked, 
in what he meant to be the most winning tones, why a 
girl of such endowments had chosen a position so far 
beneath her merits. As she stood there with lowered 
head and heightened color, astounded at his words, he 
mistook her silence and alluded directly to her beauty, 
which he said would adorn a mansion. He had been a 
widower for ten years, he told her, and if she would 
become his wife he would take her to Hew York, where 
people would never know of her present low associates, 
or that she had soiled her hands with mill work. As 
he alluded again to her personal charms, which had, he 
said, driven all thought of the disparity of their posi- 
tions from his brain, she lifted her head and bent the 


7 ^ 


RIVERFALL 


full force of her eyes upon him. The poor mill girl 
towered above her employer and looked down from her 
superior height with immeasurable scorn. 

“ Sir/’ she said, coldly and cuttingly, “ you are in- 
capable of understanding were I to reply to you in the 
terms you deserve. I ask you never to address me 
again. If you send for me under any pretext whatever 
I shall not come.” 

Mr. Baker felt disagreeably uncomfortable when the 
door closed behind the speaker. A common girl, whom 
he had offered to take out of the mud and place on 
velvet! But he was by no means convinced that the 
last word had been spoken. He would marry her yet 
and when she was his wife he would lead her a merry 
dance for the insults she had heaped upon him. A 
strike was likely to come soon and an empty stomach 
would plead better than other argument for a home 
where warmth and food could be had. 

“ Ellen has been reading novels, I guess,” he said to 
himself, u and has got a lot of high-flown notions. By- 
and-by she’ll know better.” 

Ellen did not mention this occurrence to any one, not 
even to Hugh, and though her companions noticed the 
increased haughtiness with which she treated the 
treasurer whenever she was in his presence, none sus- 
pected its full significance. Mr. Baker had until lately 
presented to the stockholders the “ stiffest ” possible 
attitude in relation to non-compromise, but utterances 
of Mr. Westland at the recent meeting had gone even 
farther than his. The assertion that the mills had 
better be closed “ till the grass grew in the streets of 


RIVERFALL 


3 73 


Riverfall 77 than have the workmen dictate the slightest 
thing to their employers had spread like wildfire. 

Though much interested in the arguments he had 
heard from Ellen and Hugh, Westland never wavered 
from his determination to carry out the wishes of his 
uncle. It was clear that he must serve those who had 
put their trust in his hands, to the best of his ability. 
A Waterloo was preferable, at whatever cost — a final 
and complete settlement of these questions — than an 
interminable series of skirmishes. 

He had put the question to his directors squarely — 
would they stand to his back if it became necessary to 
suspend business for an indefinite time? And without 
a dissenting voice they had promised. 

On the 25th of September placards were posted con- 
spicuously, giving a list of the reduced prices that were 
to rule after October 1st, and that evening dark-browed 
men and women read them through to the closing 
words, “ By order of the directors, Philip Westland.” 
Sad looks were on most of the faces, but here and there 
a flashing eye or a set mouth betokened the outraged 
thoughts of the owner. At eight o’clock the employes 
filled Riverfall Hall to suffocation. 

“ We shall have your friend Westland to fight, it 
seems,” said William Converse, one of the head spin- 
ners, to Hugh, as he entered the room with Ellen. 

“ True; our friend Westland is with the opposition,” 
replied Ellen, seeing that stress was given to the word 
“ friend.” 

“He’s no real friend to honest workmen! ” retorted 
the man, angrily. “ Thank Heaven, I want uo such 
friends as he! ” 


74 


RIVERFALL 


“ We can hardly restrict our personal friendships to 
those who agree with us on all questions/’ replied 
Ellen, addressing her remarks to as many as chose to 
hear her. She had had difficulty before now in curb- 
ing the impetuous spirit of Converse and she meant he 
should be in no doubt of her position. “ I have had 
two interviews with Mr. Westland, and he impresses 
me as a thoroughly well-meaning gentleman. As far 
as he is a representative of Capital we certainly cannot 
agree. Carrying out the wishes of men wedded to an 
odious system he is inclined to be firm, and we must 
meet him with equal firmness. There is no need, how- 
ever, of referring to him with discourtesy.” 

Converse stamped his foot impatiently. He was a 
Manchester (Eng.) man, who had been born and reared 
in the atmosphere of the mills, and the universal regard 
for Ellen’s opinion rested lighter on him than on most 
of the others. At times he found it impossible to resist 
an outbreak of feeling. He was practically an anarch- 
ist and thought Ellen’s patient methods ill suited to 
fight so great a foe. 

“ ‘ Discourtesy! ’ ” he echoed. “ It is not ‘ courtesy ’ 
we want from your fine ‘ gentleman,’ but justice! Soft 
words will buy us no bread! A man who acts as the 
tool of rich stockholders who would cut the wages of 
our girls from five dollars to four-fifty a week is a 
monster of whom the world would well be rid. To you 
he may seem a friend; to me he is an enemy, and I 
intend to treat him as one.” 

There was a slight ripple of applause in the room. A 
peculiar collection of faces peered anxiously upon the 


75 


RIVERFALL 


disputants. Poverty and long hours had written indel- 
ible lines on most of them. With the exception of half 
a dozen all wore their working clothes. As it was the 
middle of the week unshaven chins were the rule among 
the men, Sunday being the only day in which they in- 
dulged in the luxury of a razor. In that crowd Ellen’s 
handsome, intelligent face and the strong lineaments 
of Hugh made a deep contrast. 

Taking her place at a table at one end of the hall 
Ellen rapped for order with a pencil. 

“ You all know the object of this meeting,” she said, 
when quiet was secured. “ You have seen the posters 
announcing the cut in wages which is proposed for the 
1st of October. I think a small committee should be 
appointed at once to see if we cannot induce the direct- 
ors to rescind their action.” 

A growl from the Manchester man was her only aud- 
ible answer. 

“ Have you any suggestions? ” she asked, turning to- 
ward him. 

“ Much good your committee will do! ” he snarled. 
il Merely a waste of time. I say strike, and be done 
with it! ” 

A murmur of hoarse voices endorsed the sentiment. 
“ That’s it ! ” “ A committee will do no good ! ” 

“ Let’s strike and have it over ! ” and similar expres- 
sions were heard. 

“ I agree that it will not be likely to have a favorable 
result,” said Ellen calmly, “ but the moral effect will be 
worth much. It will give us a better standing with the 
public and earn us their sympathy.” 


?6 


RIVERFALL 


Converse gave a defiant snort. 

“ The ‘ public ! ’ ” he cried. “ What did the ‘ public ’ 
ever do for us? We have these rapacious mill owners 
to meet and we should teach them a lesson they will 
never forget! They worship but one god — wealth. 
Let us walk in a body out of their mills and give them 
three days to restore the old schedule, a schedule 
shamefully low before this reduction. If they remain 
dead to reason I want to see every edifice they own in 
ashes. If a few of the owners are dead among the ruins 
I won’t cry, either. Public sympathy! Committee 
of conference ! Bah ! Fire and blood is what we want — 
and the sooner the better ! 99 

Not a ripple disturbed the placidity of Ellen’s face 
during the delivery of this impassioned speech, al- 
though she dreaded its effect on the nearly desperate 
people. She marked the fiery eye of the Englishman, 
the scowl that distorted his face, the upraised arm, the 
fist that struck the table almost hard enough to break 
it. Then, without comment, she named the members 
of the committee — Hugh, a spinner named McNamara, 
and Converse himself. But the latter was on his feet 
again in an instant, refusing positively to serve. 

“ I will do anything reasonable ! 99 he exclaimed, “ but 
I could neither listen nor talk patiently to these blood- 
suckers. You will not insist, Ellen, I hope. If any 
one is to go you should be of the party. Put yourself 
in my place.” 

A general endorsement of the last proposition was 
heard and Ellen reluctantly consented. After an hour 
of desultory discussion the meeting was dismissed, sub- 


77 


RIVERFALL 


jcct to the chairman’s call. As the crowd filed out she 
gave Converse a signal to remain. 

“ When will you learn not to talk as you did just 
now? ” she demanded, sternly, as soon as they were 
alone. “ Shall I be obliged to forbid your entrance to 
our councils? I tell you for the twentieth time, we 
have no place for incendiaries and murderers! ” 

The reply she received was terribly in earnest: 

“ I cannot argue in favor of killing them — but they 
can kill me! They can kill our women and our little 
children! That is all right — hut I must neither speak 
nor act to save them ! ” 

She did not relax her sternness as she answered: 

“ You talk like a child — like a very angry child, with 
no thought higher than revenge on those who have in- 
jured you. We must proceed with wisdom, not foolhardi- 
ness. Do I not know our wrongs as well as you? They 
are burned into my very soul! I have devoted my life 
to studying this problem; and I tell you, rash man, cut- 
ting throats and firing buildings will only keep us 
longer from the end we seek ! 99 

“ And so we must continue to bow the knee ! 99 he 
responded, bitterly. “ We must beg as a favor 
for what is our inherent right! We must listen 
to stories about ‘ per cents.’ and ‘ dividends ’ and 
‘ market prices,’ and all that f olderol ! What improve- 
ment in the history of a downtrodden people was ever 
accomplished by such methods? Had you lived in 1773 
you would have spared the tea the Americans threw 
into Boston Harbor! Twenty years later you would 
have held up your hands in horror at the sweetest sight 


7 8 KIVEKFALL 


in all the ages — the stream of aristocratic blood in the 
Place Louis XV! In ’59 you would have cried “ Fan- 
atic! ” to good John Brown, whose glorious folly un- 
shackled the limbs of millions! Ellen, you are wrong. 
It is my duty to tell you of it here, when we are alone. 
I tried to curb my tongue in the meeting, but* this 
poison rankles in my blood too deeply. I was born to 
be a Man, and these mill owners have made me a 
Thing! For sixty-six hours of hard labor I now receive 
eight dollars; they mean to reduce that to less than 
seven! I am single — they have denied me wife and 
children — and I could support life on that sum; but 
when I think of the others — the women, and the little 
ones forced to toil beyond their strength — my endur- 
ance gives way, and I could throttle one of these op- 
pressors with as little compunction as I would a wolf ! ” 

Ellen breathed deeply, but with folded arms she still 
stood erect before him. 

“ You lack patience ” she began. 

“ Patience! How long must I be patient? I have 
worked in mills for twenty years. My father worked 
in them before me. My mother — I heard it from the 
other women — hastened home during my first months 
of life, in the half hour allotted her at noon, to suckle 
me, hardly having time and strength left to snatch a 
mouthful of food. She died at twenty, killed by the 
owners of that factory, who rode in their carriages and 
lived like princes. ‘ Patience! ’ A few sharp knives, 
a keg of powder or a pound of dynamite may influence 
such men, but patience — never! ” 

Ellen’s full lips were pressed so tightly together that 
the color had left them. 


RIVERFALL yg 

“ If you have finished,” she said, with unabated 
severity of manner, “ you may go. When you feel it 
necessary to say these things you will always find me 
ready to listen, but you shall not sow such seed among 
my people. If you do it again I will disown you. I 
have been chosen leader, a position I never asked nor 
desired, but while I hold it I will be obeyed ! ” 

In turning to go he held out a hand, which she took 
after some seconds of hesitation. 

“ I will have none but willing followers,” she said. 
“ If you are determined to work in opposition to me, 
you must leave the union.” 

“ Oh, Ellen! ” he cried, in tones that indicated the 
most intense distress. “ Why do you misjudge me? 
When I am only impetuous you treat me like a mutin- 
eer. I yield to no one in my devotion, but I should be 
untrue both to you and myself if I did not seek to keep 
you from a great mistake.” 

They proceeded slowly to the door, Converse ex- 
tinguishing the solitary light that remained. 

“ You have little faith in me,” he said, as she did not 
speak. 

“ It rests with you to strengthen it,” she answered. 
“ Good-night.” 

“ Good-night,” he responded sadly. 

Hugh was waiting at the corner, as Ellen knew he 
would be, and together they walked toward her rooms. 

“ You are unhappy,” said Hugh, after waiting some 
moments to let her speak first. u Is it on account of 
Converse ? ” 

She turned her eyes on her companion. 


8o 


KIVEKFALL 


“ Ho, Hugh; it is on account of myself! I have 
need of strength. He talked of knives and dynamite 
again.” 

“ And you argued with him upon his folly.” 

“ Yes, I argued. I forbade him under penalty of 
expulsion speaking like that in open meeting. But this 
is not my worst trouble, dear friend. I not only heard 
his suggestions — I listened ! ” 

The young man started as he perceived her meaning. 

“ You are nervous,” he said, gravely. “ You do not 
mean that you endorsed such theories. You never 
could do that.” 

She drew closer the arm she had passed through 
his. 

“ I listened to him — a thing 1 never did before ! His 
young mother, Hugh, worked in a Manchester mill. 
In order to nurse him at noon she had to go without 
her food — and she died when he was an infant. You 
know how he talks when he is excited. W ell, after you 
left he talked worse than ever, and I — I listened! Oh, 
Hugh ! Pray for me to-night. I need it very much ! ” 

He tried to laugh off her apprehensions, saying he 
did not intend to pray till he saw some evidence that 
Heaven took an interest in such as they. 

“ Don’t ! ” she said, looking up in a startled way at 
the murky sky. “ God cannot utterly have forgotten 
us. I know it seems sometimes as if He had, but it 
cannot be! ” 

“ The capitalists have built a lot of fine churches for 
Him lately,” said Hugh ironically, “ and thus diverted 
His attention. I saw a statement in the newspaper this 


RIVERFALL 


8 1 


morning that Mr. Million, whose fortune is principally 
invested in mill stocks, has given a hundred thousand 
toward an elegant house of worship in New York. 
‘ Generous! ’ the crowd will exclaim, like a parcel of 
parrots. I’d like to get the Almighty’s ear just one 
minute, to tell him that you and I, and old McNamara, 
and the widow Ransome’s little invalid Maggie earned 
that money, and that Mr. Million didn’t contribute one 
cent of it.” 

Ellen was too wrapped in thought to answer. She 
knew Mayfield’s lack of confidence in an all-wise 
Creator, and this did not seem the time to strengthen 
his faith. As she had said, she was weak herself. She 
had never heard the lines — 

“Behind a frowning Providence 
He hides a smiling face.” 

She was not a church-goer. Her belief in a Supreme 
Power was rather intuitive than acquired; hut it sus- 
tained her when all else seemed to fail. 

“ When are you to meet Mr. Westland?” asked 
Hugh, presently. 

“ Mr. Westland? ” She repeated the name softly. 

“ Yes. Our committee should waste no time.” 

“ True,” she said musingly. “ To-morrow evening 
at eight, then. Will you he kind enough to tell 
McNamara. It will be at the Agency, as before, I 
presume.” 

They had reached her door and he bade her go at 
once to rest, as she was looking paler than usual. 

“ You must conserve your strength,” he said mean- 
6 


RIVERFALL 


82 


ingly. “ I fear you will need it all before this thing is 
over.” 

She took his hands in hers and smiled into his eyes. 

“Fear!” she echoed. “That is not a word for 
either of us to use. I shall be all right in the 
morning.” 


83 


RIVERFALL 


vn 

The story that Ralph told Philip in relation to his 
attachment to the voung woman was entirely true. He 
had met her in the most unconventional fashion, in the 
course of an expedition with several of his chums in a 
part of Hew York which was then as unfamiliar to him 
as Texas. One of the “ boys ” had drunk enough on 
that occasion to make him a trifle loud in his demeanor, 
and as a pretty girl came in sight he staggered up to her 
and remarked, “ Whasher name ? ” in a way that brought 
the blood to her cheek and made her heart beat rapidly, 
between indignation and fear. 

The hour was very late and some people might have 
said pretty girls who did not wish to be spoken to ought 
to be at home; but Ralph, who had the instincts of a 
decent lad, entertained no such thought. Taking his 
chum by the collar he pulled him away and then, with 
raised hat, courteously asked the girl to overlook the 
affront. Instead of doing so, however, she administered 
several sound boxes on the ears of her insulter, which 
made them ring for a considerable time. At which 
the others, fearing that the affair might attract the atten- 
tion of the police, hustled the offender into a carriage 
and drove off, leaving Ralph alone with the girl. 

Nathalie was by this time convinced of the good inten- 
tions of her defender and condescended to say, in reply 
to continued apologies for his friend, that she thought 


84 zssssssssssssssssssssi RIVERFALL 


he had been taught a lesson he would not forget right 
away. As she grew calmer Ralph’s handsome face grew 
more and more attractive to her, and she consented to 
allow its owner to accompany her to the vicinity of her 
lodging, “ to prevent any one else annoying her,” as he 
naively expressed it. She did not let him go quite to her 
door that night, for she lived in a very poor neighbor- 
hood, and her pride rebelled against the full exposure of 
her poverty to this well-dressed youth. On him the 
girl made an instantaneous impression. Her accent 
charmed him, for she was born in France, and had not 
been long enough in America to gain completely the 
native pronunciation. In appearance she was not of the 
French “ type ” at all, being possessed of light hair and 
dark blue eyes. Her figure was slender though plump, 
and she wore her plain clothes with a grace that was 
natural and delightful. 

They admitted to each other, months after, when 
they had become more fully acquainted, that it was a 
case of “ love at first sight.” 

In passing a restaurant she mentioned that this was 
generally where she took her dinners, and the next 
evening Ralph began soon after dusk to haunt the vicin- 
ity. She was late, but she came at last, and when he 
had seen her enter and select a table by herself he made 
bold to go in and ask if he might dine off the same cloth. 
A cheap table d’hote meal was served, eaten and paid 
for by each in the most matter-of-fact manner. During 
that hour they gained information about each other, she 
that he had finished school and was as yet engaged in no 
employment, and he that she was an orphan without rela- 


RIVERFALL 


8 A 

lions in the country, learning the dressmaker’s trade of 
a Mme. Meliere, not far from the Bowery. In that 
section formal presentations are not necessary prelimi- 
naries to an acquaintance, even with the best young wo- 
men, and when Balph proposed a walk the request was 
readily granted. 

As they strolled through the streets people stared 
occasionally at the couple, evidently in opposite grades of 
society and yet apparently such good friends. But queer 
sights are common in a great city, and the impression 
was but momentary. It never occurred to Balph that 
his clothes were better than hers until she alluded to the 
subject. 

“ Aren’t you afraid some of your fine friends will 
see you walking with a working girl ? ” she asked, shyly. 

“ Certainly not ! ” he exclaimed. “ I’m proud that 
you think me good enough to walk with. Besides, no- 
body would know you were a working girl unless you 
told them.” 

He looked admiringly at the eyes she lifted bashfully 
and delightedly to his. 

“ I suppose there’s no danger any of the young ladies 
you associate with will be in this part of Hew York,” 
she ventured. “ Probably they live above Madison 
Square.” 

“ I know mighty few,” he retorted, “ and if the whole 
lot were to come along in a procession their opinion 
would be of no consequence.” 

She gazed at him earnestly. 

“ There must be one,” she said in a low voice, “ who 
— who thinks you ought to walk with no girl but her.” 


RIVERFALL 


86 


He laughed brightly, and then shook his head. 

“ That’s something I never had in my life. I — I 
don’t think I should quite know what to do with it.” 

The figure by his side shrank a little away. . 

“ Hold on ! ” he said. “ I’ve made some kind of mis- 
take. I don’t know any way except just to tell the truth. 
Forgive me if I’ve gone wrong.” 

She looked incredulous and graver. 

“ You’re not telling the truth when you pretend 
you’ve never made love to a girl. Why did you say 
that? ” 

“ I give you my word — my word of honor.” 

“ And — why — haven’t you ? ” 

“ I never saw one I cared enough for, I suppose.” 

“ N — never ? ” 

“ Never — before.” 

“ Now, that’s not fair,” she protested. “ You 
couldn’t make love to me if you tried. I wouldn’t let 
you. And if you’re going to make fun of me we may as 
well part right here. I know my way home.” 

He protested that he wanted to have set himself right; 
that she misunderstood if she thought he would say or 
do anything to offend her. In the course of his pro- 
testations he went so far as to declare that he liked her 
prodigiously and wanted to continue her friend. 

“ Oh, yes, that’s very nice,” she answered. “ That’s 
a good word — Triend.’ But where could I see you, ex- 
cept in the street ? You would not wish to present me to 
your rich acquaintances uptown ; and, if they were like 
the ones I saw the other night I shouldn’t care to have 
you,” she added, with a smile that the idea forced. 


RIVERFALL 


87 

“ But you could let me call sometimes/’ he suggested, 
“ where you live. And I’d like ever so much to take 
you to the theatre, and to drive.” 

“ I have a poor room on the top floor of an old build- 
ing,” she replied, letting out the whole truth in her 
distress, and thinking it might as well be now as later. 
“ There is no public parlor, few of these cheap lodging- 
houses have any. As to the theatre, it needs better 
clothes than I own to go there. Oh, dear, dear ! — (sob) 
— it’s so dreadful to be poor ! ” 

There was something in the quivering voice that told 
the young man much more than Nathalie meant to re- 
veal. He felt that she liked him, that she regretted the 
social line which, as she thought, separated them, and 
that she would be sorry if he took her literally and put 
an end to their acquaintance. 

“ Let’s not cross all these bridges till we come to 
them,” he said. “ There’s no reason why we can’t be 
friends, if you’re willing. I can come evenings and dine 
at your table, and we can talk things over.” 

“ You don’t mean every evening, do you ! ” she cried, 
astonished. 

“ Not if I shall be in the way of some other fellow,” 
he answered, coldly. “ So that’s the trouble ! ” 

“ Don’t be silly ! You can ask Monsieur Belot if any 
man ever spoke to me in his place, except himself and 
the gargons. It’s not that, at all. But — you must not 
think of coming every night. It would make talk ! ” 
lie did not in the least see why, but he answered that 
they need not confine their dinners to a single restau- 
rant. They could go to various places, making the ap- 
pointment for each succeeding day in the evening. 


88 


RIVERFALL 


And this was the way it was finally arranged, for 
the present. 

The friendship so oddly begun thrived exceedingly. 
Because Ealph had no regular occupation he found it 
particularly nice to have a pleasant evening to look for- 
ward to. It was a fact, as he had stated, that never 
until now had he been on terms of special intimacy with 
a young lady and the novelty pleased him. Nathalie was 
pretty, she was bright, and it did not take long to con- 
vince him that she was as happy as he over their ac- 
quaintance. They had little “ spats,” to be sure, accord- 
ing to the proverbial course of love, but they always 
came out of them fonder of each other than ever. 

After a few weeks she let him come to her room, 
situated in the upper story of a tall house, and very 
meagrely furnished. Nevertheless he found some- 
thing charming in the atmosphere of the place, for her 
French ability to make much of little gave an air of 
comfort to the poor furnishings. He noticed evidences 
of her devotion to the Catholic faith, in the crucifix, 
rosary and prayer book on her table, as well as^in pic- 
tures of the Virgin and saints that adorned the walls. 
She was in truth rigidly observant of the forms of her 
creed. On a Friday she would as soon have swallowed 
arsenic as meat. Twice a month she went to confession, 
and on certain saints’ days, as well as at the Sunday 
mass, she never missed attendance at church. One of 
the most severe of their earlier quarrels was caused by 
a light remark of his about her religion, and he never 
thought it wise again to allude to the subject. 

She had her way in practically everything from the 


RIVERFALL 8 g 

start. She would not accept a single article of clothing 
as a present, when he formed the notion that her 
wardrobe might as well be replenished from his purse. 
Sometimes she let him pay for the two dinners they 
took together, but even that she would not allow to be- 
come a custom. He was permitted to come to her 
room twice a week and stay not later than ten o’clock, 
in any circumstances. She took a few little excursions 
with him, on a steamer down the Bay, up the Hudson 
by train, around the Park in a carriage — and occasion- 
ally they went to one of the medium-priced theatres. 

Soon after they met she obtained from her employer, 
at a low price, a dress that had been rejected by a 
customer, on account of some dissatisfaction, which she 
made over herself, working far down into the night on 
the task. She looked much better, she thought, in 
this gown, and was inclined to be angry when Kalph, 
with the obtuseness of a man, told her he liked her just 
as well in the one she had worn before. 

“ You’ve got taste, I must say! ” she cried, “ if you 
think a cotton dress as nice as silk.” 

“ It’s not the dress,” he smiled, “ it’s the owner that 
attracts me. You would be pretty in the plainest gar- 
ments imaginable.” 

She could not help feeling gratified by the evident 
sincerity of the compliment and permitted him one of 
those rare kisses on the cheek in which he was now 
sometimes permitted to indulge. Certainly they were 
progressing. 

One evening he did not meet her at the restaurant 
where they were to dine and she walked slowly back to 




RIVERFALL 


her room in a very miserable mood. It had never hap- 
pened before and her imagination took wild flights as 
she tried to conceive the reason. At last, a little be- 
fore nine, she heard his familiar step on the stairs and 
determined to let him see (which wasn’t at all the truth) 
that she had not minded his tardiness. As he entered 
the room she sat at the window, drumming idly on the 
pane and apparently absorbed in observing the lighted 
street below. As he crept softly toward her she did 
not move nor turn her head, but when he laid his cheek 
to hers she lifted her arms and, with an impulsive 
motion, threw them about his neck. The next instant 
she drew back again and surveyed his face with a pretty 
frown. 

“ What excuse have you for not coming to dine with 
me to-night ? ” 

“ I had a letter from my cousin, the manufacturer, 
whom I told you of, and he asked me to do some things 
that could not be postponed. I came as soon as pos- 
sible.” 

“ You told me you would be there at half past six; 
and it is almost nine. Three — hours — behind— time! 
A nice young man you are — you, who always boast of 
telling the exact truth! ” 

ITe smiled into her face, for he saw she was in no 
very serious rage. It was not disagreeable to know 
that she had missed him. 

“ So you always want the 1 exact truth,’ do you? ” 
he asked. “ Well, listen, then, and I’ll give it to you. 
To-morrow I go away for a week, and possibly longer.” 

She stared at him with a dazed expression. Pres- 
ently her eyes filled with tears. 


9 1 


Iff VE If FALL 


“ You do not mean it! ” she gasped. “ Where could 
you go for a whole week? Seven days! ” 

He could hardly contain himself. It is pleasant to 
be loved very much indeed — when one is twenty-two. 

“ Fm not going very far, only to Riverfall,” he ex- 
plained. He tried to explain the situation there and 
the dangers of the impending strike. All he had in 
the world, nearly, was at stake, and his cousin Philip 
thought he ought to be on the ground to render what 
service he could. 

But Nathalie refused to take his view of the matter. 

“ If you go and stay a week we may as well say 
good-by,” she exclaimed. “ You will not find me here 
when you return.” 

Ralph had heard similar expressions from her lips 
before and did not put too much value on them. Still, 
the possibility that she might carry out her threat gave 
him a distinct alarm. He did not know what he could 
do without Nathalie. She had come to be almost as 
much a part of his existence as his eyes or his hands. 
He tried to caress her but she pushed him away. At 
last he said, if the proposed trip was really so objection- 
able to her, he would write Phil that he would not 
come. To this she made answer that he could do as he 
liked; that, whichever way he decided, it made no dif- 
ference ; and that, as he had made up his mind without 
consulting her, he might as well go and have done with 
it. 

She threw herself upon a sofa and buried her face in 
a pillow. At this Ralph began to lose his temper, too. 
He spoke sharply several times and, when she would 




RIVERFALL 


not answer, cried, dramatically, “ Good-by, then; Urn 
going, Nathalie! ” and left the house. 

The French girl heard his steps as he went down the 
staircase. She lifted her head and laughed quietly. 
It was jolly to make him cross. He often brought a 
package of candies to make up with. The farce had 
been enacted twenty times before, with substantially 
the same ending in each case. She went to the window 
and peeped out of the corner of a curtain. There he 
was, walking as if he never meant to return, without 
one backward look. The dear fellow — how she loved 
him! When he returned she would be as nice as pos- 
sible. He ought to know she was only in fun. Live 
without Ralph ! It was inconceivable ! 

She looked again. He was turning^ a corner and 
walking like a man who had made up his mind. 

“ M on Dieu ! If he really thought me in earnest ! ” 

The girl crouched on the floor by the window and 
began to cry. It was cruel of Ralph to treat her so. 
If he had gone for good she would move out of that 
house, for every article of furniture reminded her of 
him and doubled her pain. She could not write to 
his address, for he had never given it to her. She only 
knew that he lived in that aristocratic neighborhood 
which was vaguely described by the words “ IJp Town,” 
and meant anywhere above Union Square. 

An hour passed and she still sat on the floor by the 
window, her face bedewed with tears and her hair 
dishevelled, the latter caused by sundry pulls when she 
had the acutest spasms of distress. Then a knock was 
heard at the door and for a second time she hoped 
against hope. 


93 


RIVERFALL 


“ Come in,” she said, without rising. 

The door opened and a young woman in holiday 
attire entered — one of Nathalie’s few calling acquaint- 
ances. Her name was Annie May and she had come 
for the express purpose of exhibiting a new costume 
and eliciting the praises that she felt it deserved. 

u Why, Nathalie, what’s the matter? ” 

The Trench girl began to weep again. 

“ He’s left me ! ” she blubbered. 

“ Left you!” echoed Annie May. “ How many 
times does that make? Don’t be a baby. Get up and 
tell me how you like my new dress. Stunning, don’t 
you think? ” She posed before the mirror, turning in 
every direction to get the best effects. “ Cost twenty 
dollars! Is it too short in front? I don’t think so. 
Of course I want to show the blue stockings and shoe 
buckles. How’s that for a trail! I’m going up to 
Torty-fourth Street and walk all the way down to the 
Hoffman. I don’t get a new dress every day. And 
the hat! I had four ostrich plumes made into this 
one.” She pressed her skirt closely to her form. “ I 
believe it is a little too short, even for the street.” 

Nathalie rose to her knees and took a critical ob- 
servation. 

“ No, Annie. I wouldn’t alter it at all. It’s just 
right.” 

“ I’m awfully glad!” replied Annie May, much 
relieved. “ You’re a dressmaker, you know, and your 
judgment must be good. I never can tell anything 
about a gown. If it was the hat, now, I would know 
all about it, for I’ve been two years in the millinery 
department.” 


94 


RIVEKFALL 


Nathalie had risen to her feet. In her friend’s flow 
of conversation she had for a moment forgotten her 
troubles, but a glance at the mantel, on which stood a 
photograph of the lost one, brought the tears afresh. 

“ I know he’ll never come back! ” she sobbed. “ It 
was not like the other times. I pretended to be cross 
and wouldn’t speak to him and he just said ‘ Good-by! ’ 
and went. And he’s been so good! ” 

Annie May tried to soothe her. She insisted that 
Ealph would return on the following day and said that 
even if he didn’t a note sent to his address would bring 
him. 

“ You must give up a little,” she said, wisely. “ You 
can take it out of him when you get solid again. But, 
aren’t you engaged to be married? ” 

The big blue eyes opened wide. 

“ Why, no! What makes you ask such a question? ” 

“ I’m sure it’s the most natural one in the world. 
He’s been going around with you for more than three 
months. You don’t mean to say he’s never talked 
business! If that’s true I guess he’d best stay away.” 

Nathalie walked to the door and opened it. “ You 
can go, Annie,” she said. 

“ Well, I never! ” was the astonished answer, as the 
speaker gave no intention of acting upon the abrupt 
suggestion. 

“ If you think I’m the kind of girl that wants to trap 
a gentleman into marriage, you can’t care to keep me 
on your list of friends.” 

“ I didn’t say ‘ trap,’ I didn’t mean ‘ trap,’ said An- 
nie. “ Come, now. When a fellow leaves his natural 


RIVE RFA LL 


95 


acquaintances and spends week after week in the 
society of a girl of our class — a poor girl, I mean — he 
either should talk marriage or he given his walking 
papers. We’ve got to protect ourselves.” 

“ Close the door after you, Annie,” was the decided 
reply. “ It is cold in the hallway.” 

When several minutes of argument failed to elicit 
another word, Annie May switched out of the room 
with a few energetic remarks, and Nathalie was left 
alone with her tears. In ten minutes she regretted 
having driven away her friend, who had undoubtedly 
meant kindly by her suggestions. She finally went to 
bed and sobbed herself into an uneasy slumber and in 
the morning rose in hopes that the lost one would pay 
an early call and express his regret for the occurrence 
of yesterday. Finally, not having eaten a mouthful 
of breakfast, she had to go to her work unsolaced, and 
spent the most miserable day of her life. 


9 6 


ItIVEKFALL 


VIII. 

What had happened to Ralph? 

On reaching his apartments he had found a second 
message from Westland, urging him to come to River- 
fall on the very first train. 

“ You may possibly be useful, for once in your life,” 
said the letter, “ and I hope you won’t miss the oppor- 
tunity. There’s going to be a great upheaval here, 
unless all signs fail. I think the biggest struggle of 
the century, in the cotton business, is just ahead. The 
operatives are led by that young woman Ellen, whom 
it is said they obey like a regiment of soldiers. Uncle 
John has written me to fight to the death and I mean 
to justify his confidence. As you are the only mas- 
culine relation of the family interested in the outcome 
you ought to get down here as soon as the train will 
bring you.” 

Glancing at his watch, Ralph saw that he must decide 
quickly. He had barely half an hour. Had he had 
twice as long he might have decided to postpone the 
trip, for he had never intended to leave the city without 
making it up with Nathalie. The shortness of the 
time decided him and when the train drew out of the 
station he was on board. The next morning, before 
Westland descended to breakfast, his young cousin 
presented himself in his bedroom. 

“ So you came right away! ” said Philip in a pleased 


97 


RIVER FALL 


tone. “ Edna and I made a wager of a pair of gloves 
on the result and Eve lost.” 

“ Certainly I came,” replied Ralph. “ If there’s 
going to be a row I want to be in it. A row with a 
woman leading the opposition ought to be interesting. 
But — if these people are so thoroughly under her con- 
trol, isn’t there an easier plan than a shutdown? 
Wouldn’t it be cheaper, and wiser, to pay her a few 
hundreds to give her followers some sensible advice? 
It has been worked successfully elsewhere, I under- 
stand.” 

Westland shook his head soberly. 

“ You haven’t seen Ellen, or you wouldn’t suggest 
that. I’d as soon think of trying to bribe St. Peter 
to let me through the gate of Heaven. Mistaken as 
she undoubtedly is, her sincerity admits of no question. 
You must see her. She is to meet me here with a com- 
mittee of mill-hands this evening.” 

“ Delighted. By the way, how is Uncle’s health 
now? ” % 

“ Worse. The handwriting was that of his servant, 
and only the signature his own. Isn’t it a shame his 
last days should be clouded by such a wicked, senseless 
affair! Riverfall is his idol. He made it what it is 
out of a barren waste, and the people have no more 
sense of gratitude than to try to wreck the ship on 
which he has carried them so long in safety.” 

Ralph looked suitably impressed and finally inquired 
if the strike fever had got so far it was not possible to 
avert it. 

“ I think so — I think so,” was the regretful answer. 


gS RIVERFALL 

“ Ellen says she will not retreat an inch, and Em sure 
my directors won’t. There’s the breakfast bell. Don’t 
talk of the matter at the table any more than you can 
help; it frets Edna.” 

The blind girl was already in the room and stood ex- 
tending her arms to give Ealph a cousinly welcome. 

“ How did you manage to leave the idol of your 
soul? ” she asked, laughingly, when they were seated 
at the board. 

Ealph glanced angrily at Philip. 

“ So Phil had to tell you, did he ? ” he snapped. 

“ I tell Edna everything,” was Westland’s quiet 
response. “ I am her Morning and Evening Hews. 
Besides, if one of our little group is contemplating 
such a serious thing as matrimony the others ought to 
know it without delay and accustom themselves to the 
situation.” 

The younger man cracked the shell of an egg and 
began slowly to pick his way to the interior. 

“ I don’t know but it’s all off,” he said, after a pause. 
“ We had a quarrel just before I came away.” 

“ Oh, tell me about it ! ” cried Edna, with anima- 
tion. “ I’ve heard so little about love affairs, except 
what Mollie reads me from books. A quarrel! That 
sounds romantic ! Who began it — she, of course ? ” 

“ Ho. I think it began itself. She’s so dreadfully 
set on having her way — and I never know exactly how 
to take her,” said Ealph, soberly. 

Westland, relieved at any variation in the monotony 
of the everlasting strike question that had filled his 
head for days, joined in Edna’s mood and urged Ealph 
to make a clean breast of the affair. 


RIVERFALL 


99 


“ I’m almost as ignorant on love matters as Edna 
is,” he protested. “ I’ve heard their course never runs 
smooth, and my impression is that’s generally the case. 
We two are an unprejudiced jury and will decide your 
affair impartially as soon as we hear the evidence.” 

“ Go on, go on!” cried Edna. “Em dying to 
hear! ” 

Thus urged the young fellow gradually unfolded the 
situation. 

“ Is she very pretty! ” asked Edna, when he came 
to the end. 

“ Pretty? You never saw anything like it — I mean 
nobody ever did. She’s the handsomest, the sweetest, 
the dearest ” 

“ And that’s why you’ve left her! ” said Westland. 
“ Well, there are nice fish still in the sea and bait is 
plenty. For my part, though, I think you were just a 
bit unreasonable.” 

“'No, he wasn’t!” said Edna. “He couldn’t help 
being late, and he did all he could to explain his ab- 
sence. She’s a little minx to treat him as she did.” 

Ralph rose to his feet, highly incensed, but a glance 
from Westland brought him to his senses before he 
found utterance. No matter what the blind girl might 
do or say it was an unwritten law that her feelings 
must not be injured. 

“ I don’t agree with you,” he said, resuming his seat. 
“ I’m going to write her a long letter this morning and 
set myself right. It only proves she’s fond of me when 
a delay of an hour or two affects her like that.” 

“ Oh, you men! ” cried Edna. “ What vain things 

L.ofC. 


100 


ss RIVERFALL 


you are! More than likely she’s got another beau by 
this time.” 

Ralph started so violently that he spilled some of the 
coffee he was in the act of drinking. 

“ I don’t think that’s a kind remark,” he retorted, 
in spite of Philip’s warning finger. “ I couldn’t live 
without Nathalie.” 

Edna, who sat near her young cousin, reached out a 
hand and found him. 

“ And you really have serious thoughts of — of — 
never living without her? ” she asked, with eager curi- 
osity. “ I thought you were merely amusing yourself 
and it would soon be over. Tell me more. Erom 
Phil I got only the merest outline. I can’t understand 
it yet, how a girl without station, or connections ” 

“ You’d understand, if you knew her,” replied 
Ralph, impetuously. “ So pretty, so lovable, so pure, 
so fascinating! The little quarrel we had yesterday 
doesn’t amount to anything. When I return she’ll 
laugh it off and be as charming as ever. I wish I’d 
waited till we made up, though, before I came away. 
She’s sure to wake this morning with a fit of the blues; 
and she has hardly any intimate acquaintances to drive 
them away.” 

The blind girl understood now that the subject was 
really serious to her cousin, and she kept him talking 
for some time after Philip had left the table and gone 
to his office. She had not as much prejudice on the 
score of wealth and family as she might have had but 
for her misfortune, but she wanted Ralph to make no 
mistake in such an important matter as a life connec- 


IOI 


RIVERFALL 


tion — if his affair with the little French girl should 
go so far. 

She exacted a promise that he would not marry at 
least until his only remaining cousins — herself and 
Philip — had met his sweetheart. And she was relieved 
when he admitted that a formal engagement had not 
yet been entered into. 

It came out that Ralph had never made a definite 
proposal from fear it might he rejected, which struck 
Edna as very odd when she thought of Nathalie as he 
described her, and of Ralph as at least sufficiently well 
off to give her a much better home than she then had. 
Edna wished she was sure Nathalie was not a designing 
creature, imposing on the credulity of her admirer. 
Ralph was so young and, with women, so inexperienced. 
In romance these chance acquaintances sometimes 
turned out happily, but she was not sure they always 
did so in real life. 

That evening the committee of work-people came, 
according to. appointment, to the Agency and held a 
conference with Mr. Westland, at which both Edna 
and Ralph were present. Nothing was accomplished, 
however; Westland stating at the outset that he was 
acting under orders from his uncle in Florida, which 
he could not disregard. Flis suggestion that the oper- 
atives accept the new schedule for the present and 
await the change in the market which he confidently 
hoped would come with the new year was politely but 
firmly declined by Ellen, after a few minutes’ whis- 
pered conference with her committee. They had de- 
cided that such a course would give too great an ad- 
vantage to their employers. 


102 


RIVERFALL 


Ellen’s appearance impressed Ralph greatly and he 
listened attentively to every word she uttered. He was 
not, however, convinced in the least that the price paid 
for labor should be settled by persons receiving wages. 
She seemed as if speaking in a strange tongue which, 
though it thrilled him, did not carry conviction. That 
there would be a strike seemed certain, and the thought 
that his already insufficient income was to be reduced 
to zero point was the one uppermost in his mind. At 
moments he wondered Phil did not open the door and 
order them out of the house. At others the picture of 
their leader, as she plead for her losing cause, held him 
like a vice. 

“ An actress! That is what she should be,” he de- 
cided. “ Erohman would put her on his list of stars and 
Clyde Pitch would write her a play, if they could see 
her. Such a voice, such eyes, such a figure, such a 
pose! ” 

u I understand, then, that you speak with full 
authority? ” said Ellen to Westland. 

“ That is true.” 

“ I also have full authority to order my people to 
leave the mills till the old schedule is restored. This 
committee was appointed to try once more to avoid 
that, but I assure you this will be our last week at the 
looms if you and your directors do not change your 
minds. We are a unit on that point.” 

He bowed courteously and intimated with a move- 
ment that he could do nothing more. The committee 
filed out, slowly. When Westland took Ellen’s ex- 
tended hand as she bade him good-night, there was 


KIVEI(FALL 


103 


something in the touch that disturbed him. Her calm, 
steady gaze was on his face, but he avoided meeting it 
and was relieved when she had vanished. 

The three cousins had a long talk after they were 
alone and agreed that the situation left no choice. If 
the people were bound to put their fingers in the flames 
there was no way to stop them. Such things had to 
happen once in a while, like other epidemics, in the un- 
fathomable processes of nature. 

“ But what a wonderful creature Ellen is!” said 
Edna. “ If her influence were only on the right side 
what a power for good she might be! ” 

“ It is on the right side — as she sees it,” responded 
Philip, quickly. “ She’s got to suffer with the rest of 
them.” 

“ Has she no relations to whom she can go, if worse 
comes to worst? ” 

“Not a soul; an orphan, without brother or sister. 
But you may be sure she would not leave Riverfall if 
she had. She believes it her mission to lead these 
people into the promised land. She’s as much con- 
vinced of her duty as was ever any prophet of old, and 
it’s mere folly to argue with a person in that frame of 
mind.” 

Edna’s pale face took on a new worry. She could 
understand little about this matter except that her 
father’s directions must be right and that it was 
troubling Phil. Her helplessness to aid made it harder 
for her to bear. When Westland went to his room she 
turned again for relief to the theme of Nathalie, and 
Ralph told her he was going to run up to New York 
and untangle the skein. 


1 0/f 


RIVER FALL 


11 1 can do nothing here for a day or two,” he said, 
“ and there’ll he no better chance. I don’t like that 
.little girl to fret about me and perhaps think some 
accident has happened. I’ll be back at the latest by 
Friday and then I’ll stay as long as I can be of use, 
though I’m blest if I know what good I can accomplish 
here. I’ll take the earliest train, before Phil is up, 
so you can say I left word for him.” 

Nathalie had in truth been so troubled by the com- 
plete mystery of her lover’s disappearance that she was 
nearly ill. Her work at the dressmaker’s was badly 
done the next morning and brought several sharp 
reproofs. Finally the garment on which she worked 
was taken away, and she was told to go home and not 
return till she brought her wits with her. Mme. 
Meliere was accustomed to deal rather harshly with 
these girls, under the influence of bad temper, but she 
generally got over it in time to take them back as soon 
as they were ready to return. The others whispered to 
Nathalie not to mind, but to take a good rest and 
come again on the morrow'. They did not know, of 
course, what caused the terrific pains in her head that 
made her nearly blind. She went out, little dreaming 
it was the last day she would ever spend among those 
companions, with most of whom she had worked for 
over two years, and who, with the exception of Ralph 
and Annie May, were the only persons she could call 
friends anywhere on earth. 

But when she reached her room she found her situa- 
tion little better. If he never was to return, she could 


io5 


RIVERFALL 


not endure the scenes where they had been so happy 
together. She must find another chamber, in which 
each object would not remind her of the lost one. It 
was a relief to find occupation for her hands, and she 
set about packing her trunk to pass the time away. 

Tears continued to fall as she proceeded. There 
were so many things that he had given her, generally 
after a pretty struggle, in which she had insisted that 
she would accept nothing more and he had persisted 
till he won the victory. She paused the longest over 
some embroidered slippers, recalling their purchase. 
He had bought her a pair that pleased his eyes in a 
shop window not far from where she lived and the 
dealer’s boy had come with him to see if the size was 
right. They were much too large and the boy had to 
go twice before he got them small enough. How 
Ralph had laughed over the incident and, when the 
right ones were left at last, how he had taken them in 
his hands and caressed them! 

“ Such a baby foot ! ” was his exclamation, as he 
held up the slippers, lost in admiration of their minute- 
ness. And now the baby feet were going from him! 

Many little articles had their history, many could 
have told an interesting tale had they had tongues. 
And when all were packed, Nathalie took them out of 
the trunk again, and put them back in the bureau and 
closet, to wait a little longer. Perhaps he would re- 
turn, after all. Indeed, he must, if only to scold her. 
Doubtless he was at Riverfall, where he had said he 
was going. If he did not come in a few days she could 
address a letter to him, at the postoffice. Yes, and if 


106 -^s~~assa~sz~& KTVERFALL 

he did not answer it, she conld take the train and follow 
him there. She had a little money and could pawn 
some of her things. 

The long day passed and the next night. In the 
morning she was no better able to work than on the 
previous day. She went for a walk — away up town, 
in the vain hope that she might see his familiar figure. 
It was noon when she reached home again and she 
resumed the occupation of yesterday, sorting over her 
trinkets and living on the memories connected with 
them. Finally she sat dowm near the window and be- 
gan to compose the letter that must be sent to River- 
fall, if all else failed. Her English education had been 
neglected, and it was with difficulty that she spelled 
out the words. Her orthography was original and of 
the phonetic order. At last she evolved the following : 

Deer Half : — I never thort yu was gowing that time yu 
went out. Yu no I am all ways foolin an thats what I was 
doin then. I have bin so Lon sum I cant work and Madame 
sent me horn. Pleas rite that yu still luv me an cum soon 
as yu can. 

Ures till deth 

Nathalie. 

She read the note over carefully, placed it in an 
envelope and addressed it. Then she took Ralph’s 
photograph from the shelf and kissed it over and over, 
as she sat at the window, with her back to the door. 
So absorbed was she that she heard not the stealthy 
step on the carpet nor realized Ralph’s presence in the 
room till she felt his arms tightly clasped around her. 

“ Oh, how you frightened me ! ” she cried, springing 
up and trying to hide the letter she had written. But 
his hand was on it and he held it out of her reach. 


RIVER FALL 


“ What! Yon were going away! ” he exclaimed, as 
he saw the nearly filled trunk. “ You were going to 
leave, so I should not know where to find you! This 
is the girl I’ve been breaking my heart over! ” 

Nathalie caught his coat in her hands and clung to 
him hysterically. 

“No, no! I thought you meant to leave me for 
good. I couldn’t bear to stay here after that.” 

He did not look satisfied. A suspicion had entered 
his mind that she was playing a part. His jealousy was 
aroused and his hand clutched the letter more tightly. 

“ Oh, please don’t read that ! ” she cried, trying 
frantically to take it from him. 

For the first time he pushed her roughly aside. If 
he had a rival he might as well know it now as later. 
But, as he read the letter, the corners of his mouth 
relaxed. 

“You really love me!” he shouted. “And you 
thought I could live without you! ” 

“ You said ‘ Good-by,’ ” she whispered. 

“ You were awfully provoking.” 

Declaring that he was starving, he made her put on 
her hat and accompany him to a restaurant, where they 
spent the next hour. She told him of her discharge 
by Mme. Meliere and he said he was glad of it — that 
he had been evolving a plan where she could be much 
more useful. 

As she opened her eyes widely he asked, “ How 
would you like to go to Kiverf all with me ? ” 

“ With you? ” she repeated, shrinking back a little. 
“ I don’t understand.” 


io8 


KIVERFALL 


“ Listen, then.” He told her all about the impend- 
ing strike, talked of Ellen, railed against the employes 
of his uncle’s mills and praised the magnanimity of 
the directors and Phil. 

“How, here’s where you come in,” he explained: 
“ I want you to go down there and get into the mills 
at some sort of occupation — anything will do — so you 
can go out on strike with the rest. If possible you 
must hire a room in the same house with Ellen and get 
into her confidence. It’ll be like private detective 
work, and what you learn may he of the greatest value 
to my family. You understand; you’re to be a real 
mill girl, like the others, for a few weeks; and I’ll 
arrange some way to meet you and talk things over.” 

Hathalie was in a mood to consent to anything that 
would bring her near to her sweetheart and she saw 
nothing wrong in the task he outlined. To he of use 
to Ralph was delightful to think of. She said her 
things were nearly packed and she could be ready to 
start at any hour. When it was time for him to go 
he had it all arranged. She was not even to take the 
same train, from cautious motives, but to come on the 
following day. She accepted a small sum of money 
for expenses, as the journey was to be made in a busi- 
ness way, and he told her Treasurer Baker would cer- 
tainly reimburse him. When they parted it was with 
many expressions of endearment and happy smiles on 
both their faces. 

“ If you see me in Riverf all don’t forget yourself 
or we are lost ! ” was his final adjuration. “ Hot a sign 
of recognition, or the whole thing is ruined.” 


IX 


HIVE UFA LL . 


log 


Men and women with discontented faces thronged the 
streets of Riverfall. The mills were deserted. Hot 
a wheel revolved, not a spindle whirled. On the great 
gate of each mill was a legend, in big, black type : 

CLOSED BY ORDER OF THE DIRECTORS, 
and some wag had added, on one of them — 

After all the Hands had Gone out ! 

It might have been Sunday, it was so quiet, though 
the holiday attire was missing. Conversation took on 
a lower tone than usual. Little groups discussed the 
all-important question, but so subdued was the talk it 
could not be overheard many feet away. 

In the Agency Philip, Ralph and Edna sat together. 
The men were silent, and Miss Westland tried to 
brighten their spirits by frequent expressions of belief 
that the affair could not last long. She realized that the 
difficulty was preying on Philip’s spirits, and that Ralph 
was thinking mournfully of the reduction in his income 
which the loss of dividends would entail. 

When Westland had heard Edna refer to the “ strike” 
for the twentieth time, he broke silence. 

“ This is not a strike,” he said, nervously, “ it is a 


1 10 


RIVE UFA LL 


lock-out. We did not care to let them take the initia- 
tive, when we saw how things were going. In a strike 
the workmen stand ready to resume labor as soon as 
their demands are granted. In a lock-out the question 
is settled by their employers. The attitude we have 
taken puzzles the malcontents. A corporation usually 
attempts to continue work with new hands, who are sub- 
jected to all sorts of humilation, if not to direct assault, 
and are denominated c scabs ’ and ‘ knobsticks.’ This 
brings on a conflict. In a lock-out nothing of the kind 
can occur. The Corporation, having decided to lock 
its doors, has no need to employ anybody. The people 
locked out, having no incentive to acts of violence, tire 
sooner of their amusement. When we are ready to 
open the mills they will jam the entrances in their 
desire to get to the looms. But we shall be in no haste. 
A long vacation will have an effect they will be apt to 
remember.” 

Balph heard his cousin attentively, and thought he 
spoke from his heart. Edna listened also and took quite 
a different view. 

Several days had passed since Balph parted from 
Nathalie in New York, after arranging with her to act 
the part of a spy upon the troublesome people at Biver- 
fall. She arrived too late to secure work, but by pro- 
fessing sympathy with the others she found no difficulty 
in being accepted as one of them, her plain clothing 
and the pricks of needles in her hands bearing out her 
statement that she was a working girl. 

Her first meeting with Balph was in one of the silent 
mills, to which he had obtained the key of a rear en- 


Ill 


RIVERFALL 


trance. When the slight figure, cloaked and hooded, 
made its appearance the young man was at its side. 
But Nathalie drew hack. 

“ Are you a capitalist P” she asked in deep tones, 
holding up both hands to ward him off. 

He thought it not a bad joke, and laughed merrily. 
She drew back farther yet. 

“ You must answer, Ralph. I am in earnest. Are 
you a capitalist ? ” 

“ Well, no, I don’t believe I am,” he said, puzzled. 
“ If I ever was, your new friends have disposed of the 
peril.” 

“ Oh, I’m so glad ! ” She threw up her veil. “ I 
couldn’t bear to think of giving you up; but I heard 
one of the men say you were a capitalist, and I wouldn’t 
stand that, you know.” 

He tried to help her remove her hood, but tumbled 
her hair down in his eagerness. When she had accepted 
a seat he began to ply her with questions : 

u What villain told you I was a capitalist ? ” 

“ One of the men named Converse said so,” she re- 
plied, twisting her hair back into shape, and speaking 
with her mouth full of pins. “ I think he would like 
to kill every capitalist in the world. Ellen has a lot of 
trouble with him.” 

“ Tell me about Ellen,” he said, growing still more 
interested. “ What luck you had to get into the very 
house where she lives ! ” 

“ You ought to know her,” replied Nathalie, warmly. 
“ She’s a wonderful woman. She makes every one do 
exactly as she says. Why, the night before last I was 


112 


RIVERFALL 


taken to a kali and made to promise — but I was not 
to tell ! Oh, I forgot ! ” 

Nathalie’s eyes opened wide as ske realized kow near 
ske kad come to breaking her obligation. 

“ Pshaw ! It will be all right to tell me,” he answered; 
u of course I will let it go no farther. That’s what you 
came for, you know. I want to hear every word.” 

The girl was unconvinced. 

“ But, Balpk, I promised not to tell — and a promise 
is — a promise.” 

It was evidently useless to pursue this tack, and he 
changed the subject. 

“ How do you like your lodging ? ” 

“ Splendid. I sleep with a girl named Plalierty, and 
sometimes when I dream in the night I bump my head 
against the ceiling that comes down on my side of the 
bed. It’s awful jolly.” 

He made a grimace and repeated with a shrug the 
word “ jolly! ” 

“ Well, it is,” she persisted. “ Miss Flaherty’s got a 
brother, too, named Mike, the nicest kind of fellow.” 

“ Horrible ! ” he ejaculated, striking a pose. “ Well, 
the next thing, I suppose, you’ll be Mrs. Mike Flaherty.” 

“ He’s asked me,” she replied, thoughtfully. 

Balph grasped her wrists so tightly that she uttered 
a cry of pain. “ You shall not speak like that,” he 
shouted. 

She pulled her hands away and moved her chair from 
him. “ I shall do as I please,” she said, sulkily. “ If 
a good fellow asks me to be his wife I sha’n’t ask your 
consent.” 


KIVEUFALL^a 


Her manner struck him with a deathly chill. 

“ You know/’ he said, in an injured tone, “ that I 
love you above everything.” 

“ Love ? Yes, ‘ love ! ’ Love, love, love ! ” she 
mocked. And that’s all there is to it ! ” 

He tried to explain the difficulties of his situation, 
the uncertainty of his means of subsistence, while the 
mills were doing nothing. He said he had always in- 
tended to ask her when the right time came. 

“ Is it really true that this Flaherty wants you to 
marry him, after knowing you only two or three days ? ” 
he inquired, with a scowl. 

She bowed firmly. 

“ A rough mill laborer ! ” 

“ He is a Christian,” she answered, simply. 

“ By which you mean a Boman Catholic.” 

“ It is the only true Church. He wouldn’t make fun 
of religion, as you do.” 

Balph was growing very uneasy. 

“ But, Nathalie ! ” he cried, “ you do not love him ! ” 
Tell me you do not love him ! ” 

“ I do not love him,” she repeated, smiling. 
u And you do love me ! ” 

“ And I do love you 99 

He could hardly contain himself for joy. 

“ But why did you say such disagreeable things ! ” 
he inquired, pinching her cheeks. 

“ It is you who were cross. You looked as if you were 
going to bite me. As for Mike I didn’t encourage him at 
all. I couldn’t help his proposing; though it was rather 
sudden.” She reddened like a peony. 

8 


113 


H4 


RIVERFALL 


Then he brought her back to the subject of Ellen, 
and she spoke of Hugh also; but she liked best to talk of 
Converse, the Manchester fire-eater. 

“ He said the capitalists had got all their wealth by 
robbing the poor, and I couldn’t bear to think you were 
one of them.” 

“ But what about the row? Will the people hold out 
long?” 

“ Of course they will ! They’ll never give up, if they 
die of starvation — I’ve heard them say so, over and 
over. The directors will either pay the old wages or 
keep the mills closed. What makes your cousin, Mr. 
Westland, do the dirty work? They say he is in other 
ways a decent man. Ellen won’t let them say much 
against him, when she’s around, and some of the men 
make a fuss about that. Converse was talking about it 
when he used your name.” 

“ What did he say?” 

“ He had a big crowd, in the street, and he was saying 
something like this : ‘ I ain’t going to see this thing 
ruined by a woman’s soft heart. Let them leave their 
love affairs till we have bread in our mouths.’ Some 
whispered ‘ Hush ! ’ and looked frightened. ‘ I mean 
it,’ he went on. ‘ He’s got a young capitalist cub with 
him, too ’ (that’s you, Ralph), ‘ a whelp who’s got a 
fortune made out of poor folks like us. But, of course, 
Westland can do as he likes, because he’s her sweet- 
heart ! ’ Some of the men offered to strike him, but 
Hugh (do you know him?) came just in time. He 
looked awful black at first, but finally told us to dis- 
perse and say nothing about it. We promised and — 
there ! I’ve told you another secret!” 


RIVERFALL 


115 


Ralph’s countenance, which had grown rather lengthy 
at the uncomplimentary allusions to himself, grew 
brighter as he saw the disconsolate expression on hers. 

“ dSTo matter,” she said, after a moment’s pause. 
“ Even if you do live with your wicked cousin I know 
you will be with us against these awful capitalists. I 
wish you’d join our society — they couldn’t say anything 
against you, after that.” 

“ What society ? ” he inquired, with astonishment. 

“ The Sons and Daughters of Toil,” she replied, with 
perfect sincerity. 

A laugh broke from the listener. 

“ I fear I’m hardly eligible,” he said, with a broad 
grin. 

“ They took me. I know they’d be glad to have you. 
Let me carry your name in ! ” 

She was so sweet and unconscious of the humor of the 
idea, it was happiness just to watch her. 

“ ETot quite yet,” he replied. “ I want to look into the 
matter a little. So Ellen has admitted you to her inner 
circle, has she? That’s good. What would she say, 
I wonder, if she knew you came here on false pre- 
tences ? ” 

The girl colored deeply. 

“ If I did come that way,” she replied, with a long 
sigh, “ it’s over now. She is right, and not one of her 
followers will stand by her more faithfully than I.” 

Ralph’s face lengthened. 

“ And where does this leave me ? ” he asked, with a 
long face. 

“ Oh, Ralph,” she cried, impetuously, “ I wish you 


116 RIVERFALL 


were very, very poor, like me and these other people — 
there wouldn’t seem such an awful distance between us. 
I’m glad you’re not a capitalist (she spoke the word with 
bated breath), but you are nearly as bad. The work- 
people are your slaves, too. Ellen says no person who 
doesn’t produce something has a right to live,” 

The drops that glittered in the girl’s eyes only added 
to her charm in the sight of her admirer. It was a new 
revelation to him, this depth of feeling and greatness of 
conviction. When he answered he was serious, too. 

“ It isn’t nice to be dreadfully poor, Nathalie. A 
few weeks of it may seem endurable, but in the long run 
absolute want must be very painful. The man who 
enjoys camping out during the bright summer months 
would find it quite different in the chilly blasts of winter. 
Don’t let Ellen fill your pretty head with silly ideas.” 

She was not pleased at this. 

“ I don’t understand everything Ellen says, but her 
ideas are not silly,” she retorted. “ I’m sure if you were 
really poor, I’d like you all the better.” 

He regarded her with a tender expression. 

“ If we have a long lock-out I may have to seek work 
in earnest,” he said. “ What little I have is invested 
here, and it may be lost.” 

“ Oh,” she exclaimed, joyfully, “ I’m so glad! ” 

She could not understand, and he thought it as well 
to change the subject. 

“ You’ve heard me talk of my cousin Edna, the blind 
girl,” said he. “ She wants to know you, and I hope 
soon to bring about an interview. I sha’n’t tell Phil 
you’re in Kiverfall, but I could trust Edna with any- 
thing.” 


ii7 


RIVERFALL 


“ Why does she want to meet me ? ” asked Nathalie, 
opening her blue eyes wider. 

u Because — because I told her I hoped — you would 
some day be — my wife.” 

She searched his face earnestly. 

“ Ralph, do you mean that ? ” 

“ How can you ask ? ” 

“ You never said it to me before.” 

“ Haven’t I ? I thought you understood. I’ve told 
you I loved you a thousand times.” 

“ Y-e-s.” 

He took both her hands. 

“ So you were waiting for something formal? Well, 
Nathalie, as soon as the Riverfall troubles are ended 
I want you to be my wife. Will you ? ” 

She was so long in answering that he put the question 
again, growing uneasy at the delay. 

“ When they are ended — how ? ” she asked, finally. 

“ By the people resuming work, of course.” 

“ At what terms ? ” 

“ Our terms, to be sure ; Phil’s terms. You don’t 
suppose they’ll ever get back on any other terms, do 
you ? ” 

She looked him full in the face, calmly. 

“ That means I’m not to marry you,” she said. “ The 
people will never enter the mills at the reduced wages, 
and I’d never vote to have them do so. Ralph, when I 
came here I didn’t understand the situation. Ellen has 
the right of this contest. Not even to gain you will I 
break the vow I made in the council. If your proposal 
depends on the defeat of the operatives we may as well 
consider it ended now,” 


II 8 zsssssssssssss——— KIVERFALL 


His temper began to assert himself. 

“ All right, he said, sharply. “ So that’s your idea, 
is it?” 

“ That’s my idea, M-r. — R-a-l-p-h.” 

“ It’s the old story! You must have your way in 
everything ! Then it’s good-by — and for the last time.” 

Her bosom heaved rapidly, but she stood to her 
colors. 

“ Good-by.” She moved toward the door. 

“ We— might part friends, at least,” he stammered. 
“ You could give me a last kiss, Nathalie.” 

“ Yes,” she answered, coldly. “ I — could.” 

Before he was aware of it she had opened the door 
and vanished into the night. 

He ran up and down the street, and peered in all 
directions through the darkness. She might be pretend- 
ing again, and perhaps would spring laughing from some 
corner. 

“ Nathalie ! ” he called, in a piercing whisper. 
“ H-a-t-h-a-l-i-e ! ” 

A form came out of the gloom and approached him. 
But it was not the French girl; it was Ezra Baker, 
treasurer of the Corporation, who met Ralph’s gaze 
with a provoking smile, which showed that he was not 
a total stranger to the cause of the young man’s anxiety. 
He stopped as if he wanted to talk about it, but Ralph 
turned on his heel and left him with an abruptness that 
savored of the discourteous. 


2 IJ 9 


RIVE RFA LL 


x 

For several days after the lock-out matters in River- 
fall were quiet. Neither side in the controversy made 
any overt move to disturb the other. Some metropoli- 
tan newspaper men who had been sent to write up the 
“ trouble ” found their task a sinecure, and wired to their 
editors that the affair could be covered through the usual 
channels. They did, however, devote a column or two 
each to the remarkable condition of three thousand 
operatives standing completely at the orders of a woman, 
whose portrait one of them managed to sketch with a 
fair degree of accuracy; they told of the rise of this 
manufacturing town, and the history of its growth, with 
allusions to the long strike of a previous day. And then 
they yawned on the veranda of the Riverfall House, 
played billiards on its rickety old table, and tried to 
flirt with the prettier of the female residents. 

Philip W estland found the situation as galling as can 
be imagined. Time was passing with no apparent gain 
to his side. He reasoned and argued, in his talks with 
Ralph and Edna, and in frequent letters to his uncle, 
that each day must lessen the ability of the workpeople 
to maintain their ground, as they had practically no 
funds to draw on, either in the treasury or their private 
pockets. He learned that contributions were being voted 
them from the workers in other places, but not sufficient, 
he thought, to greatly alter the prospects. 

Partly to fill up the time and partly because he 


120 


RIVERFALL 


thought it well to keep in touch with the people he had 
to fight (partly, too, because he liked the young fellow’s 
society — and perhaps a little because the most frequent 
subject of their talk was Ellen), Philip had several meet- 
ings with Hugh Mayfield. Ho third person would have 
imagined from the manner of either that they were act- 
ing in behalf of sworn foes, engaged in a battle that 
was to be to the death. The utmost politeness prevailed 
on both sides. The representative of the mill owners 
put on no airs; the workingman uttered no threats. 
They discussed the grave questions in which both were 
interested with the dignity and courtesy of gentlemen, 
who had a common interest in the matter and wanted it 
settled right. 

“ I wish Ellen would come with you again some even- 
ing,” Westland remarked, on one occasion, as Hugh 
was taking his departure. 

“ She would be glad to have you call, I’m sure,” re- 
plied Hugh. “ Just at present her home is the head- 
quarters for our organization, and she would not like, 
I think, to absent herself from it.” 

“ It is quite the same,” responded W estland, without 
hesitation. “ I will go there to-morrow evening or the 
next, or whenever best suits her convenience. Only 
there must be no misunderstanding on one point : I have 
no proposals to offer except those I have already given. 
I would like a good-natured discussion, however, hoping 
that good may come of it. I esteem Ellen highly, and 
mean to act in such a way that I shall earn her regard.” 

Hugh weighed these words carefully. 

“ I think you have that already, Mr. Westland. You 


121 


’RIVE REA LL 


certainly have mine. I will see her before I sleep, and 
send you word what reply she makes to your suggestion. 
Good-night.” 

“ Good-night.” 

The mill-hand’s extended hand was clasped warmly, 
and Hugh went directly to Ellen’s chambers. She 
looked at him interrogatively as he entered, but he 
shook his head. He knew the question that was in her 
gaze. 

“ Ho, Mr. Westland has said nothing to indicate a 
change of sentiment,” he remarked. “ He would like, 
however, to discuss the matter with you. He proposed 
the meeting himself and wanted it at the Agency, but 
when I told him you would probably prefer it here he 
assented.” 

u Good ! ” she replied. “ To-morrow, at eight, I will 
be at his service.” 

Then the conversation turned at once to business 
matters concerning the idle operatives and their needs. 
At midnight Hugh departed and the next morning sent 
a note to the Agency in accordance with the understand- 
ing that had been reached. 


u Instead of beginning this interview with a discus- 
sion of the relations between capital and labor, will you 
allow me to tell you a story ? ” 

This was the way Ellen began, when Westland had 
taken a seat in her sitting-room. Ho one else had been 
invited to be present — not even Hugh — for she felt 
she could talk better thus. 


122 


RIVERFALL 


Philip nodded gravely. He could feel the magnetism 
of her personality from where he sat. It was happiness 
enough to hear the rich, mellow tones of her wonderful 
voice. 

“ This is my story/’ she said : 

ELLEN’S PARABLE. 

Once there was a large island, owned by a great and 
beneficent proprietor. Its surface was covered with 
ample fields, forests and vineyards. Beneath its soil 
was hidden every mineral known to man. Countless 
herds of cattle fed in its broad pastures. Innumerable 
fish clove the waters of its pellucid treams. Nature had 
left nothing wanting to make it a terrestrial paradise. 

A traveller, weak and helpless, moored his frail bark 
in one of the magnificent harbors which dotted this 
island’s shores. He was faint with hunger and his 
form was destitute of all but the merest apology for 
raiment. As his eyes rested upon the goodly land a 
glad smile illuminated his wan features. “ Here,” he 
thought, as he stepped upon the shore, “ is warmth, sus- 
tenance and comfort.” As he left the craft in which 
he had made the voyage, the waves carried it out of his 
reach. Like himself it was of slender workmanship, 
and soon the waters engulfed it. 

Toiling slowly up the street of the town where he had 
landed, the traveller came to a lordly dwelling. Every- 
thing about the place betokened wealth, and the grounds 
had been laid out under the direction of a true artist. 
The lofty portal of the mansion stood invitingly open, 


123 


RIVERFALL 


and a glance into tlie spacious hallway showed that the 
occupant was a man of taste as well as ample means. 

The stranger ascended the marble steps and lifted 
the heavy knocker. A well-kept servant answered the 
summons, but drew back with unconcealed aversion 
when he saw the appearance of the caller. “ How dare 
you, a miserable tramp, invade these grounds ? ” he 
cried. “ Begone, or I will call the dogs and set them on 
you ! ” 

The lip of the stranger trembled, but he did not 
budge. In a dignified way he asked the servant to in- 
form his master that he wished to speak to him. Mutter- 
ing his displeasure the servant consented reluctantly, 
and disappeared through one of the numerous doorways. 

But when the owner of the house appeared he as- 
sumed a mien no more cordial than his lackey had 
shown. This the stranger noticed, but, relying on the 
superior quality of mind so wealthy a gentleman should 
possess, he bowed politely and proceeded with his tale : 

“ Sir,” he said, “ I have come to this island from a 
country far distant. Only an hour ago I landed upon 
your shore. The frail craft in which I arrived has 
foundered in your harbor, and even had it not done so I 
could not return whence I came, neither knowing the 
way thither across the waters nor having the means of 
subsistence on the journey. Bearing that this place 
might be a desert I am rejoiced to find it the abode of 
plenty, where you can easily supply my few wants out of 
your great abundance. As it is evident I must remain 
here I pray you to receive me for the present as your 
guest. When I have eaten and drunk and you have 


124 


RIVERFALL 


supplied me with suitable clothing, of which you will 
observe I stand in sore need, I shall be glad to labor for 
myself, and if you will assign me a small piece of land 
in your vast meadows I can easily secure my livelihood.” 

On hearing these words the master of the house 
turned to his servant in great alarm. “ This is certainly 
a dangerous person,” he cried, “ who should be appre- 
hended without delay ! Send immediately for the police 
that they may convey him to a safe place.” 

When the servant had departed the traveller told the 
master that he was at a loss how to account for his re- 
ception. 

“ I am not of unsound mind,” he replied, pointedly, 
“ as my quiet demeanor and sensible discourse should 
show you. I have committed no crime and know of 
no pretence under which I can be imprisoned. My sole 
misfortune is my poverty, for which I surely may not 
be blamed. 

Then the master of the house shrank from the 
stranger as if he had been afflicted with some loathsome 
disease. “ Poverty ! ” he repeated, with horror. 
“ Know you not that under our code that is the chief of 
crimes ? If you plead guilty to it, the judges will make 
short work of you.” 

At this juncture the police arrived, and the traveller 
was soon haled before a magistrate. On hearing the 
statement of his accuser the judge was about to impose 
sentence when the unhappy man inquired if he might 
say a few words in his own defence, being without the 
means to engage counsel. To this it was at first an- 
swered that he had already confessed his guilt, and as his 


RIVERFALL 


125 


appearance fully bore out his statement,, it was idle to 
take up the time of the court with a useless harangue. 
As he still begged for only a few moments he was told 
to proceed, but warned that he must be brief and that, 
whatever he might say, it could have no effect on the 
magistrate’s decision. 

Thus permitted to open his mouth the stranger began 
by inquiring the name of the Lord Proprietor of the 
island on which he had trespassed. When he heard the 
Name his countenance brightened. 

“ In what manner do those who are tenants hold pos- 
session % ” he asked. 

“ By kinship to the Proprietor,” replied the judge, 
haughtily. 

“ Then I also have a right to be here,” cried the 
stranger, “ for I too am of His family ! ” 

But to this the magistrate responded sharply that 
kinship to the Proprietor was not the only requisite to 
the use of the island lands. “ The immigrants who 
first landed,” he said, testily, “ took all the ground and 
divided it among themselves^ as was sensible and proper. 
To-day it is held, either by their descendants or by 
others who have accumulated wealth and purchased 
titles from the first owners.” 

“ Then the island was, before the time you mention, 
wholly uninhabited ? ” said the traveller, sadly. 

“ Not precisely,” answered the judge, frowning. 
“ Our ancestors found here a wild people, who lived 
mainly by hunting and fishing. These they either ex- 
terminated or drove into the interior where the facili- 
ties for existing were much reduced, and long ago all but 
a remnant of them disappeared.” 


s RIVERFALL 


126 


“ One other question, I pray / 7 persisted the prisoner. 
“ These wild people — were they not, also, of kin to 
our great Proprietor ? 77 

With some confusion the magistrate answered that 
they claimed to he distantly related. 

“I knew they were ! 77 cried the stranger, passionately; 
“ and in the name of those defrauded people I protest, 
here in this court, against your titles, written with hu- 
man blood! I have as good a right to a part of this 
land as any leaseholder, and demand that my share be 
assigned me ! 77 

The magistrate hesitated for some moments before 
replying, for he saw that the crowd which filled the 
court-room was impressed by the suggestion. Most of 
them were, like this stranger, landless and with no pros- 
pect of improving their condition. They were not, how- 
ever, as liable to starvation, being employed by their 
more fortunate neighbors and paid small sums for their 
labor. Finally, the judge said the point raised had been 
decided adversely by the Supreme Court of the island 
in a case which arose some years previously, on the con- 
tention of a native-born resident. It ill became a new- 
comer, he added, severely, who brought neither gold 
nor goods, to question established customs. 

Upon which he sentenced the prisoner to become for 
an indefinite period the bond-servant of the man at 
whose instance he had been apprehended, at the same 
time warning him that an attempt to escape would be 
severely punished. 

Oppressed by what he considered the injustice of this 
decision, but at a loss how to evade his doom, the slave, 


RIVERFALL 


127 

with what grace he could summon, entered the service 
of his master. Being apt and intelligent he soon found 
favor in the eyes of the landowner, without seeking it, 
and gradually his tasks were limited to those of the 
more agreeable sort. One day the master interrupted 
him at his work, and in a most winning voice discoursed 
unto him in this fashion : 

“ Why, O slave ! dost thou repine at thy lot ? How 
easy it will be for thee to rise above it, if only thou wilt 
take advantage of thine opportunities ! Thou esteemest 
those whose ancestors were the first comers to this island 
greatly favored, and yet I, thy master, am not one of 
them. My grandfather came like thee, naked and 
hungry, and was in like manner sentenced to servitude 
in the interest of the public weal ; but instead of remain- 
ing cast down in spirit he sought the means of lawful 
deliverance, as thou mayst do if thou wilt. He obtained 
leave to work beyond the hours assigned him and to re- 
tain as his own what he gained in this manner. That 
he might put aside a few pennies daily, he lived on the 
coarsest food and wore only the plainest raiment. At 
night he lay on a pallet of straw. If his fellow slaves 
made merry he refused all invitations to join them. 
When they had their feastings and dances he retired to 
his garret to count his gold. Little by little, through 
such thrift as this, his savings increased until he could 
lend to others on good security, charging the very high- 
est rates of interest. At last he became the richest 
slave that ever lived on this island; and then he pur- 
chased his freedom ! 


128 


RIVERFALL 


“ Being now a citizen, did he sit down and idle his 
time in frivolous amusements? Hot he. He obtained 
possession of a tract of land on which he had loaned but 
a tithe of its value, the previous owner having a large 
family, the care and education of which compelled him 
to relinquish his claim. On this land, as my grand- 
father had surreptitiously discovered, there were coal 
deposits of immense extent. Ho other coal existed for a 
great distance, and, most luckily, a long and unusually 
severe winter followed the opening of the mine, causing 
much distress among the indigent. F our times the ordi- 
nary price was thus obtained for all the anthracite he 
could get to market. When the spring arrived no one 
could longer question my grandfather’s right, as the 
wealthiest man in his neighborhood, to hold up his head 
in any company. He was speedily elected to positions of 
honor, and the most aristocratic of his fellow-townsmen 
gave him his daughter’s hand in marriage. It is from 
such as these that I am descended and such thou mayst 
be, O bondman, if thy will and industry be not lack- 
ing.” 

But the slave’s lip curled disdainfully. 

“ Bather will I remain a serf to the end of my life 
than follow such an example ! ” he cried, with scorn. 
“ Thy grandfather was the greatest villain of whom 
I have ever heard. It is inconceivable that one who had 
himself known the sting of poverty could become an 
oppressor of his neighbors. Having grown rich it 
should have been his delight in the time of scarcity to 
give freely to all who asked it the coal that cost him 
nothing. I wonder he could sleep for thinking how 
grudgingly the poor must use that costly fuel, when with 


HIVE RFA LL 


129 


a word he might have heaped their firesides high with 
warmth and gladness. Was it nothing to him that 
shivering women sat at vacant hearths within sight of 
his monster coal heaps — that aged men’s days were cut 
short and that little children died of cold ? It is incred- 
ible that such a wretch could he elevated to office, or that 
any decent family would have its blood polluted by 
his ! ” 

The master winced as he listened, but preserved his 
patience a little longer. 

“ Indeed,” he answered, “ it is all true, as I have re- 
lated it to thee. My grandfather was not the sordid 
wretch you try to conceive him. When he had become 
many times a millionaire through his coal mine (and 
afterwards by buying up all the wheat in the island, 
and thus doubling the price of bread), he built at his own 
expense the beautiful church you see yonder, besides 
contributing largely to the fund for sending missionaries 
to benighted people in heathen lands. When he died 
seven clergymen assisted at the obsequies, and much 
money was spent in adorning the interior of the church 
with inscriptions regarding his munificence and piety. 
To all his riches and honors his son (my father) suc- 
ceeded, and I succeeded to him. Thus, as thou canst 
discern, through the business ability and foresight of one 
man, his descendants are raised above the need of toil, 
and may so continue, if they are wise, to the end of 
time; for, merely by the natural course of accumulation, 
our estate will increase vastly with each generation. I 
have added many acres to those owned by my father, 
and my son will, I trust, add as many more. To thee 


9 


RIVERFALL 


I offer our example for emulation. Thou hast unusual 
abilities, O slave ! Thou, too, canst easily rise, if thou 
wilt take the means, above thy serfdom.” 

Then the slave rent his garments and spat upon the 
ground in his wrath. 

“ May my right arm fall lifeless at my side and my 
nether limbs refuse their office,” he cried with vigor, 
“ if ever I climb to ease upon the necks of my brothers ! 
Every man on this island is a kinsman of the Lord Pro- 
prietor. What think you He will do when He comes 
again and finds how you have used His benefits ? You 
see around you an ample supply of all things men need; 
wherefore, then, should one man spread himself over 
miles of territory, to the exclusion of others more needy ? 
You counsel me to habits of severe industry, and dwell 
upon the merits of long hours of labor; but it is apparent 
that if each did his proper share a few hours daily would 
suffice to gather the products of nature and weave every 
fabric of commerce. You urge me to be frugal — but 
the prodigal soil, hardly yet touched by the husband- 
man, scoffs at your niggardliness. You say to me, ‘ If 
you would prosper remain celibate 9 — but no creature 
that God has made deigns to set me that example. Is 
it right that all the lower animals shall have their break- 
fasts provided while man — their proud superior — per- 
ishes from hunger ? Hot always shall this be so, O my 
master ! The day is coming when Equity shall rule — 
when Justice shall sit on the throne long usurped by 
Fraud — when the Privileges of the few shall give way to 
the Rights of the many ! Prepare for that day, lest you 
perish in the upheaval that will come ! ” 

At this the master grew white with rage and said, 


RIVERFALL 


“ Dost thou threaten me, 0 slave ? thou, whose body and 
soul are my possession ! Severely shalt thine insolence 
be requited ! ” 

Saying which he summoned certain other slaves — 
fellows whose good will he had secured by feeding and 
clothing them better than the rest — and they at his 
command cast the presumptuous man into a dungeon. 
But his words had been overheard. Presently they were 
spread and accepted by many persons, and the prison 
in which he lay was soon filled with other slaves who 
held like opinions with him. 

At last, one night, a thousand of them rent their 
chains, overpowered the servile guard and took posses- 
sion of the castle. On every hand the oppressed rallied 
to their standard, and finally the doctrines of the de- 
spised slave became the law of the land. 

To-day that fair island is a paradise indeed, for it is 
the free and equal possession of all the inhabitants. 
Even the stranger cast upon its shores is welcomed like 
a brother. If he is weak and poor he is allotted a piece 
of land and cared for tenderly till he is able to support 
himself. In return he renders only what labor is his 
proper share. Everything is different from the old time. 
Masters, with their leagues of woods and fields, have 
disappeared. Slaves have disappeared likewise. Com- 
mittees, chosen by popular vote, distribute the abund- 
ance of the land. Ho one is naked; no one is hungry; 
no man hoards food and fuel while others starve and 
freeze. And the Great Proprietor, when He comes, will 
find His kinsmen with their arms about each others’ 
necks in friendly union, where once the lash and gyves 
enforced an iron rule ! 


132 


RIVERFALL 


xi 

It was a strange picture. Philip Westland, represen- 
tative of capital, dressed irreproachably, “ clean cut,” 
as the saying i§, sitting in that mill-girl’s room, listening 
to her allegory with most respectful attention, interest 
*sn owing "'i!| every lineament of his intellectual face. 
Ellen, in her print gown with a beauty of countenance 
seldom excelled in the drawing rooms of the rich, 
motherless by death and fatherless by the law, pierced 
her auditor with eyes that flashed a hundred fires. The 
floor of her sitting room was bare, with the exception 
of a few old mats, and the scanty furniture was of anti- 
quated pattern. The cages of her canaries were cov- 
ered with newspapers, that the kerosene light might not 
disturb the slumbering inmates. A few boxes filled 
with flowers and some prints tacked to the walls con- 
stituted the only ornaments of the apartment. 

Westland felt a charm in that odd place for which 
he could find no satisfactory reason. He loved to hear 
those clear tones, to feel the magnetism of that presence, 
to bask in the radiance of those magnificent orbs. And, 
though they could hardly have been farther apart in 
social station, Ellen experienced to a certain degree the 
pleasure in his company that he felt in hers. 

When she had finished her story neither spoke for 
several minutes. Philip hated to break the stillness that 
succeeded to the reverberations of her voice. Ellen 


133 


RIVERFALL 


leaned back in her chair and let her eyes rest on the 
floor, making no attempt to apply the moral of the tale. 
She had learned in the school she attended that it is 
sometimes well to wait. 

“ Has this wonderful island a geographical location ? ” 
was his first question. 

“ Yes. On the maps it is called AMERICA.” 

u And the date of the overturn — ” 

“ Already it has begun. Within twenty years it will 
be substantially complete.” 

“ Indeed ! ” he exclaimed, with a start. “ And the 
strangers who arrive — ” 

“ Are from the vast unknown,” she responded, 
solemnly. “ One of them floated into Riverfall only last 
night. The roof that shelters it, the food it will eat, 
must be earned in slavery, first by its parents and next 
by itself. Poor little thing! It did not elect to be 
brought here, and it cannot return whence it came. 
As it becomes older it will have the dismal choice, either 
to toil on till the grave receives its exhausted frame, or 
to rise by crushing in the mire hundreds of its fellows. 
Little wonder, with such an awful alternative, that so 
many choose the latter road. Human nature is weak and 
under hard conditions fine sentiments are blotted out. 
In our Southern States, before the Civil War, slaves 
who were manumitted sometimes bought other negroes 
and became tyrannical masters. The most severe super- 
intendents in our mills are men who passed through 
great hardships in their youth. Disabled wolves make 
a speedy banquet for the pack, and men are very much 
like them.” 


134 


RIVERFALL 


He heard her with grave attention. 

“ Learned men/’ he said, when she paused, “ tell 
us that a sharp struggle for the rewards of wealth is 
what has brought mankind out of barbarism. They 
say the disagreeableness of poverty induces us to seek 
its escape by inventions and improvements. There is a 
law of nature that is called ‘ The survival of the fittest.’ ” 

She bent her eyes upon him till it seemed as if they 
would scorch his face. 

“ Out of barbarism ! ” she repeated, with the utmost 
accent of scorn. “ How many has the present divi- 
sion of wealth brought out of barbarism ? While it has 
given ease and refinement to the few — the very few — 
the masses are fighting for the means of bare existence 
— fighting their self -constituted masters and their fellow 
sufferers, in the madness that necessity engenders. Cast 
your glance over the habitations of Riverfall. You will 
see a dozen palaces and a thousand huts. Where one 
person knows comfort and luxury, hundreds are familiar 
with want. Everywhere the same picture is presented 
— non-producers fed by producers, idleness supported by 
industry. ‘ Survival of the fittest ! ’ Who do you 
consider the ‘ fittest ’ to survive ? Dare any one say, for 
instance, that I am inferior in natural endowments to the 
‘ ladies ’ who cover me with the dust of their carriages 
as I go to and from my work ? ” 

He almost rose from his chair in his anxiety to reas- 
sure her. 

“ Ho, Ellen,” he answered, vehemently, “ you are 
not. I say this in all honesty. Y ou were never intended 
for the sphere of life in which you live, and in the 


*35 


RIVERFALL 


natural course of evolution you would not remain there. 
There is no need of your doing so. A hundred better 
opportunities are open if only you would seek them. I 
say the same of Hugh, too, and I mean it. But of the 
masses this is not true. Any one who observes them 
must see they are fit for manual labor and nothing else.” 

She had not taken her eyes from him, and now they 
blazed again. 

“ And who made them so ? Who keeps them so ? ” 
she inquired, impressively. “ Do you pretend that they 
are of a different breed from their employers? Why, 
the workman of to-day is often the employer of to- 
morrow. The son of the employer of yesterday is the 
laborer of to-day. Equitable laws would abolish these 
intolerable differences. As for myself and Hugh, if 
we possess the superior qualities with which you credit 
us, shall we therefore league ourselves with the oppres- 
sors of our less fortunate brothers and sisters? Shall 
we not rather remain by their side, encouraging and 
helping their upward march toward better things ? Yes. 
If we are to rise, we will rise together; if we are to fall, 
you will find us with the weaker ones.” 

Just for the delight of hearing her voice he inquired 
absently what changes she would like to bring about. 

“ First, public control of all staples. I would not let 
a coterie of irresponsible men — for the sake of increas- 
ing fortunes already beyond their needs — raise the price 
of meats or cereals. All minerals belong to the whole 
people ; I would forbid any combination to corner them, 
compelling each user to pay an exorbitant tribute. I 
would not allow the greed of a railroad company to stand 


RIVERFALL 


136 


between the Kansas farmer who burns the corn he can- 
not sell and the Massachusetts artisan pinched with 
hunger. I would declare transportation over national 
highways the duty and prerogative of the general gov- 
ernment. Beef that sells at two cents a pound in Texas 
should no longer cost ten in New York. In short, I 
would uproot the present business i system/ which 
drains the life-blood of the poor to increase the number 
of millionaires. No man has a moral right to more of 
this w T orld’s goods that he can use. He should not be 
allowed to cover a superfluous rod of earth with his 
parchments merely to gratify the desire of possession. 
I would provide every child with a home and sustenance 
as good as that of any other. Each should receive the 
best possible education, at the public expense, and in 
no circumstances should it leave its books to earn its 
bread.” 

“ A beautiful dream ! ” murmured Westland. “ And 
how would you bring it about ? ” 

In her enthusiasm the young woman moved her chair 
closer to his till she almost touched his garments with 
her own. 

“How?” she repeated. “Nothing is wanting but 
the consent of the majority, which under our republican 
forms is supreme. To-day the working masses are un- 
doubtedly struggling in ignorance, but they are groping 
toward the light that shines outside their prison house. 
The system of wage slavery has not quite crushed out 
their God-given aspirations. There are those who will 
lead them away from Egypt — still a few who will reject 
offers to link themselves with the ‘ upper classes/ where, 


RIVERFALL ?2SSSSS~S2SSSSSSS~ 

behind the jasper walls of paradise, they may forget the 
souls in Purgatory. We will gradually shape the laws 
to the end we seek. Knowing that with a just apportion- 
ment there is enough in this world for all, we will aim 
at an equitable distribution. The workingman is think- 
ing. Soon he will realize the strength of the wonderful 
weapon that is ready to his hand — the ballot” 

The manufacturer contemplated the mill-girl for some 
seconds before he said anything in reply. He would 
have been glad to prolong the silence indefinitely, but a 
guilty consciousness stole over him. He knew well that 
it was the woman herself, and not her arguments, that 
enthralled him, and he felt it wrong to take more of her 
time for his selfish pleasure. Her answer to his sugges- 
tion that she was fitted for higher things did not en- 
tirely explain why she devoted her life to people so far 
beneath her. Fanatics seemed to have a marvellous 
tenacity of purpose. This beautiful creature, mistaken 
and misled, was no exception to the rule. 

u You have read much,” he ventured at last, feeling 
that he must say something. 

“ Hot very much,” she answered. “ A few books 
that Hugh brought me did more to solidify opinions I 
already held than to form new ones. It must be evident 
to you how much I lack education. At twelve years of 
age I began to work regularly in your uncle’s mills. 
My wages have hardly enabled me to save enough to 
attend a seminary,” she added, with a faint smile, “ and 
I do not spend all I earn on myself, either.” (She 
blushed at what she feared might seem a boast.) “ There 
are so many others in greater want than I, the pennies 
go as fast as they come.” 


138 


RIVERFALL 


He hated to take his departure, though the oil lamp 
was growing dim. He knew it must he nearly eleven 
o’clock, and that Ellen needed her rest. And still he 
lingered. 

“ It is very late,” he said, looking at his chronometer. 
“ I beg your pardon for trespassing so long on your 
patience.” 

There was an honest, straightforward ring in Ellen’s 
voice as she replied : 

“ There is no need of haste, so far as I am concerned. 
An hour more or less of rest means nothing to me.” 

“ But,” he questioned slowly, “ does the hour at which 
your visitor leaves mean nothing ? Is Riverf all as free 
from gossip as that would imply ? ” 

He was immediately sorry, when he saw the look that 
came into her face. 

“ Ho person in Riverf all, I think, has ever yet ques- 
tioned my conduct or my motives,” she said with rising 
color. “ At least, none of my own class, and I care 
little — perhaps too little — for the opinions of the other. 
You know now to what my life is dedicated, as abso- 
lutely as that of a nun to her order. I come and go as I 
choose, at all hours, and my doors are open to whoever 
finds need to enter. I have too high a mission to think 
of trifles. As long as I breathe my every effort will be 
devoted to these poor souls who have chosen me their 
leader.” 

Why did he ask the next question? It was clearly 
impertinent. 

“ You intend, then, never to marry?” 

“ Marry ? ” There was a depth of sadness in her 


KIVERFALL 


139 


tone. “ If marriage only meant to marry, I might hope 
some day to be a wife, that state to which I fully believe 
God intended every woman of physical and mental 
vigor should aspire. But marriage may mean mother- 
hood ! It may mean the calling into life of little chil- 
dren, to suffer like these I see about me. I have much 
courage, but I could not bear the responsibility of 
parentage in these dark days. Frequently one of my 
girls comes with a happy light in her eyes and a secret 
for Ellen on her lips. Some young man has asked her to 
be his wife, and she seeks my advice — really my con- 
sent — to wed him. What can I say ? I know the prob- 
abilities of the future in store for her, for him, for the 
unborn they may summon into a world which man’s 
inhumanity has changed to a hell ! I look into her face. 
Love has electrified it, making the desert of her cheerless 
life to blossom as the rose. Her God-given passion is 
perhaps the greatest and best among His innumerable 
gifts. She has a right to a husband’s embrace, a right 
to press her own babe to her bosom. Who shall deny 
her ? Surely not I. 

“ But the years pass on. Though they practise every 
economy the husband’s wages make a scanty living for 
two. Then the baby comes — oh, how soon he seems to 
come ! — and the expense is increased. Before long I 
find the feeble mother at the mill gate in the morning 
with the rest of us — ‘ just to help out for a little,’ she 
says — but she keeps on. Two years more and there’s 
another child. The period during which, by all that is 
sacred, a woman should have rest, she passes, almost to 
the latest moment, amid the rattle and jar of the ma- 


I /JO 


RIVERFALL 


chinery. For a few weeks we miss her. With two 
children and with her house to keep she will surely be 
needed at home now. But here she is again at her 
loom, pale and thin, only half recovered from her trial. 
More mouths to feed make the necessity for labor 
greater than ever. Poor girl ! An endless chain has en- 
tangled her limbs, and she will never escape its coils ! 
I have seen it so often. And yet — what can I do? — 
when the next girl comes with the same happy story, I 
give her my blessing and see her swallowed in the same 
maelstrom ! 

“I fear there are immoral girls in Biverfall; girls 
who might have been, under other conditions, true and 
honored wives. The young men do not marry as freely 
as they should. They dare not undertake the risks 
that matrimony brings, and illegal relations are formed. 
You cannot dam up a stream so high that its waters will 
not find their way to the ocean. Cases are frequently 
brought to my attention that almost break my heart. 
I am full of sympathy for the sinful ones, though I set 
my teeth together when I think of the system that is 
responsible for their fall. The crimes that follow these 
moral lapses are too dreadful to relate. Little souls 
are stilled on the very threshold of existence. Young 
girls are sent into the presence of their Maker guilty 
of awful crime. ‘ What cruel mothers ! ’ do you say ? 
‘ What a cruel system ! ’ I answer you, 6 that stifles the 
holiest feelings of our nature and nourishes only the 
baser ones/ ” 

Westland rose slowly. Ellen rose also and for a sec- 
ond they looked full into each other’s eyes. 


RIVERFALL 


“ You believe me an honest man,” he said. “ Other- 
wise you would not talk to me in this manner.” 

“ I believe you intend to be,” she corrected. 

“ I shall do my duty as I understand it,” he continued, 
earnestly. “ Ellen, I honor and esteem you highly. 
What I am compelled to do as representative of those 
who have delegated their trust to me may strain our 
friendship, but I hope we shall not let it break. The 
tension is likely to be severe.” 

She waited, silent, for him to proceed. 

“ We who own these mills,” he proceeded, u believe 
we are right and shall act accordingly. A theory is one 
thing, but facts must be considered, too. When the un- 
iversal brotherhood of man arrives we shall be glad to 
welcome it, I have no doubt. At present I see only one 
situation: at the price I must pay for cotton, and the 
price which the woven fabric will bring a certain scale 
of wages is all I can pay and earn dividends. That scale 
has been adopted. If the spinners and weavers will in- 
dicate to me their wish to return to work at those rates 
I will open the mills at once. More ; I will promise that 
the first increase in the market prices of our goods, or 
the first drop in the price of cotton, shall be followed by 
a corresponding increase in the wages we pay. If, in the 
face of this, the people leave the mills idle the rest of 
this month, the swallows may build their nests undis- 
turbed beneath the eaves when spring returns.” 

Ellen listened gravely, but made no demonstration 
whatever. 

“ You are speaking now as manufacturer and trus- 
tee,” she remarked, quietly. 


I/J.2 


RIVERFALL 


“ As manufacturer and trustee. I can speak in no 
other capacity.” 

She hade him a pleasant “ Good-night,” and he slowly 
descended the stairs, groping his way in the darkness. 
His homeward walk was lonely, no one being met in 
the streets. 

When he reached his chamber he threw himself into 
a chair, and sat for a long time absorbed in thought. 
All she had said came back to him, the tones of her 
voice rang again in his ears, her accusing eyes pierced 
him as before. Starting up after an hour of absorption 
he spoke aloud: 

“ She would do the same if she had to carry out the 
orders of a Board of Directors ! If there be blame it is 
theirs as well as mine ! ” 

Shivering, he disrobed and crept beneath the bed- 
clothes, where after some time he fell into a disturbed 
slumber. The next morning, at a later hour than usual, 
he rose with a dull head and a heavy heart. 


H3 


RIVERFALL 


XII 

“ Bill ” Converse was ont of sorts. The lock-out had 
lasted more than two weeks and there was no sign that 
the end was near at hand. In spite of all he could say — 
and he grew more and more pronounced in his utter- 
ances — the ex-employes of the Great Central Corpora- 
tion still pinned their faith blindly to Ellen. The situa- 
tion galled him. He had been in labor differences be- 
fore, where suffering and privation were the rule, but 
never in one like this. A whole community thrown out 
of their livelihood and not a hand raised to resent the 
injury; people already beginning to feel the pangs of 
hunger taking their orders from a woman — and such 
orders — was more than he could tacitly endure. Con- 
verse was in a dangerous mood that day when he made 
the allusion to Ellen that Nathalie repeated to Ralph, 
and the knowledge that his associates were only pre- 
vented by Hugh from administering rough treatment to 
him did not improve his temper. 

Going home one afternoon from an aimless stroll he 
found a man engaged in nailing a notice to the door of 
the room he occupied. It was a brief warning, couched 
in legal terms, that he must vacate the premises one 
week from that date. The weaver caught the chap by 
the shoulder and threw him to the floor, at the same 
time lifting his foot as if to crush him. 

“ You devil’s cur ! ” he cried, in a towering passion, 


*44 


RIVERFALL 


u meaner than the hounds who employ you ! Who sent 
you with this paper? Speak, or I will spoil your face 
so your master won’t recognize it ! ” 

“ It was the constable/’ whimpered the fellow, 
thoroughly scared. “ I didn’t see any harm in it. I 
have a wife and five children and must do something to 
get them food.” 

Converse eyes glared like those of a tiger. 

“ You have a wife and children ! ” he retorted. 
“ What about the wives and children you are dis- 
possessing? To cover your brats you are willing a 
thousand others shall sleep out of doors! If you can 
feed them, the rest may starve for all you care ! Give 
me those notices — give them to me, I say — or I’ll force 
them down your throat ! There ! Tell your employer 
they’re in the river and that if he sends more they’ll 
go the same road ! ” 

The documents floated down stream, and the tool of 
capital made his escape, thankful that he had not been 
served in a similar manner. Within half an hour all 
Riverfall was discussing the occurrence, and one of the 
results was the calling of the workpeople to a general 
meeting, at which Ellen demanded of the Englishman 
an explanation of his conduct. 

Having fully made up his mind to endure restraint 
no longer, Converse met the question with a bold defi- 
ance. He found the yoke of this woman insupportable. 
If the others were to continue under it the sooner he 
left her ranks the better.” 

“ I have no explanation to make,” he said, throwing 
back his head and looking unflinchingly at Ellen. “ I 


3 145 


RIVERFALL 


took the papers that ordered myself and comrades out 
of our homes and threw them in the river. My only 
regret is that I didn’t throw Westland’s man after 
them.” 

Ellen spoke with calm firmness. 

“ There is but one course for me to pursue,” she said. 
“ Your name will be struck from our roll. After this 
your acts cannot be charged against the organization.” 

Without a word the man took his hat and left the 
hall. Hugh put in a few remarks* to the effect that he 
hoped no one would treat Converse harshly on account 
of what had happened. “ If we are to place ourselves 
under certain leaders we must, of course, obey them,” 
he said, “ and it is right that those who are not willing 
to do so shall be expelled; but Converse is our fellow- 
sufferer and we must use him kindly.” 

When the meeting had dissolved he remarked to 
Ellen that the lost member was a man who meant well 
and might yet see the error of his course. 

“ I fear he will make us much trouble,” she replied, 
gloomily. “ A few such acts as he committed to-day 
might bring on a general conflict with the authorities. 
You look more troubled than usual to-night, Hugh. 
What is the matter ? ” 

“ You, too, look troubled and tired,” he said. “ Let 
us put off further discussion till the morning, when you 
will have the strength that comes from a night’s re- 
pose.” 

“ I am stronger than you think,” she answered, “ and 
shall sleep better when I know you have kept nothing 
from me.” 


io 


146 


RTVERFALL 


Her superior force of will won the victory, and he 
proceeded : 

“ We have expelled Converse from our membership; 
that was right. Any other course would have been fatal 
to discipline. But the condition that caused his out- 
break is still to be met. The notices ordering us to 
vacate the Corporation houses will be served. They are 
legal documents, either to be obeyed or resisted. Which 
shall it be?” 

“ They will be obeyed,” was the prompt answer. 
a We cannot resist the law.” 

“ And what is to come next ? It is not warm enough 
these nights to sleep out of doors. Women and children 
may perish, if the sky is their only covering. They must 
be provided with shelter. Where ? ” 

Her anxiety at this plain statement of the important 
fact that troubled her showed in her set eyes. 

“ There are the public buildings,” she suggested. 
“ The authorities who are charged with the evictions 
are also compelled, I presume, to provide for those who 
have neither food nor shelter. It is no disgrace to accept 
aid at a time like this. The stockholders who ordered us 
to cease work are by far the largest taxpayers in Kiver- 
fall. Under the State laws I do not belive the Town 
Committee can refuse us the bare necessities of life, 
and the men who have covered this valley with their 
deeds will have the bills to pay, as they ought. When 
our people understand this — and you must see that it 
is fully explained — they will not longer stand in dread 
of being called ‘ paupers/ The State has kept us in 
childhood. When its policy renders us hungry and 
homeless, let us go to it like children.” 


1 47 


RIVERFALL 


Hugh listened with the quiet air of one who, while 
he intends obedience, still retains the right to suggest 
ideas. 

u Let me remind you,” he said, “ that the town build- 
ings will not hold half of us should the evictions be car- 
ried out in full. Even if the authorities were disposed 
in our favor — which they are not — there would be a 
limit to what they could do in that direction.” 

“ The families will not be turned out all at once,” 
said Ellen. “ It will take several days to serve the 
notices. The problem will thus be forced gradually on 
the officials and they will have to meet it. I have 
thought of another source of shelter, too, if we come to 
absolute need. We can apply to the churches.” 

In spite of all he could do, Hugh’s lip curled at this 
suggestion. 

“ The churches ! ” he exclaimed. “ When was the 
church on the side of a workman who wished his condi- 
tion bettered? Who ever heard a minister plead our 
cause against our oppressors? The churches will lock 
their doors, Ellen. Place no faith in them.” 

She was not disconcerted. 

“ There have sometimes been reasons,” she replied, 
with calmness, “ for that action of the Church in labor 
troubles. Violent men have encouraged acts of lawless- 
ness, and the Church is the great conservator of the 
peace. Surely my consistent adherence to the policy of 
non-resistance will arouse sympathy in this immense 
force. We shall present a new phase of the question — 
peaceable workpeople ordered out of their homes. Ho, 
Hugh. The churches cannot refuse us shelter in edi- 


148 


RIVERFALL 


fices dedicated to the Saviour of Men — to Him who 
said the giving of a cup of cold water to a thirsty soul 
would be remembered in heaven ! ” 

The young man listened with reverent mien, but his 
regard was toward the speaker, not for the institution 
she championed. But when she paused his feelings 
overcame him again, and he burst out impulsively : 

“ Oh, Ellen ! I wish I had your faith ! Your heart 
is so guileless you look for too much good in others. 
How can you forget history? The Church has in- 
variably linked itself with the rich, against the 
poor. It has poured its holy oil upon the heads 
of kings and damned the subject who refused to 
place his neck beneath the despot’s heel. The Eu- 
ropean landlord has more than once invoked its aid 
to quiet his ragged and starving tenants! Cortes and 
Pizarro destroyed better nations than their own, with 
the Cross uplifted above their bloody swords ! Here 
in Biverfall the rich rule every religious body. 
The most luxurious seats in the houses of worship are 
owned by men who have cornered the necessaries of life, 
and draw dividends from watered stocks that compel us 
to take starvation wages. Neither priest nor parson 
will risk his comfortable living by going contrary to the 
ideas of his chief patrons. However, I am glad you 
are going to test your theory. It will be worth a little 
suffering to demonstrate what Nineteenth Century 
Christianity will do for homeless American citizens. If 
we were Zulus or Eiji Islanders I should have less fear ; 
we are unfortunate in our race and color.” 

Ellen grew paler as she listened. 


1 49 


RIVE KFALL s 


“We will try them,” she replied, simply. “ If they 
fail us we will discuss our next move then. Have you 
heard of any new cases of extreme destitution ? ” 

“ Yes, there are several.” He took a list from his 
pocket and gave it to her. “ I have received only two of 
the contributions that were promised us by the other 
textile workers, but more are coming. Don’t try to do 
too much yourself, with what you have saved from 
your hard earnings. You will need it for personal use, 
I fear, before this affair is ended.” 

She smiled at his anxious face. 

“ You are hardly the one, Hugh, to lecture me on that 
score. I know how generous you are with your own 
money. The little I have was meant for just such an 
emergency, and if I keep back any it is for a possibly 
greater need to come. Did you meet Mr. Westland 
to-day ? ” 

Her voice lost a little of its steadiness as she pro- 
nounced the name, and its tremor was not unnoticed by 
the listener. 

“ I sought him out,” was the reply, “ to say you en- 
tirely repudiated the act of Converse in assaulting his 
messenger. He said he was glad to hear that, and unless 
a second assault took place he would take no action in 
reference to this one. The Corporation, he went on to 
say, wish possession of all their property at the earliest 
possible date. Unless within a short time the ex- 
employes undergo a radical change of view the entire 
plant will probably be sold to a company who will run 
it with new labor. c You ought to see there is no pos- 
sibility of winning/ he ended. e Ho law compels us 


RIVERFALL 


150 


to reopen the mills to you, and my uncle writes that he 
will sacrifice all he has rather than retreat one inch. 
If the spinners and weavers wish work it is best they try 
other towns, as by remaining they seem to set me at 
defiance. I assure you, unless the wheels begin to re- 
volve before the first of November, the last ounce of 
cotton has been spun in Riverfall. The machinery will 
be sent to Georgia, and the offer we have for the real 
estate will be accepted.’ ” 

As Ellen heard the closing statements the color 
mounted to her cheek. 

“ And this is free America ! ” she exclaimed, hold- 
ing her clasped hands toward heaven. “ This is the 
land where the all-powerful ballot secures to the 
humblest citizen the right to enact laws which shall 
control the highest ! What hinders the son of labor 
from taking peaceable control of his own? He out- 
numbers the capitalists as the leaves of the forest out- 
number the trees. He has only to alter State laws and 
the Federal Constitution — and yet, like another Samson, 
he lets Delilah sheer his tresses ! He labors a willing 
slave for masters that rest at ease. He wears coarse 
garments that they may be clad in velvet. He sleeps 
in a hovel — or, if they please to order it, in the open 
air — that they may press couches of down in frescoed 
chambers. He gnaws his crust, or, it may he, goes 
hungry, while they taste the richest products of the 
earth. And this he does by deliberate choice, with the 
weapon of deliverance always within reach of his 
hand!” 

Hugh was carried away, as he had often been before, 


RIVERFALL 


by the exuberance of her expression. He waited for 
her to proceed. 

“ Hot by violence shall the change come,” she con- 
tinued, when her panting bosom was somewhat stilled. 
“ There is no need to inflict a single bruise nor to shed 
one drop of blood. We will employ neither the torch 
of the incendiary nor the bullet of the assassin. Let us, 
who would invoke the law, show our respect for it. We 
must send our true friends to the State Capitol. As a 
woman, I have no vote, but you and such as you must 
work. The spectacle of three thousand people and their 
dependents, though willing to toil at half decent wages, 
thrown upon the public aid, ought to have a powerful 
effect. With our friends in the higher offices our mas- 
ters will be obliged to treat us like human beings.” 

As she seemed to have finished Hugh indicated his 
intention to take his departure, but before going he 
believed it wise to say something he had felt for some 
days must be said sometime : 

“ The men came near handling Converse roughly. 
When I asked what was the matter not one of them 
would tell me. I found that the little French girl 
across the hall from your rooms had heard him, but 
she only said he had spoken disrespectfully of you ; she 
would not repeat his words. The matter was so serious 
that I kept at it and finally ran it down.” 

“ And what did you learn ? ” she inquired, looking 
wonderingly in his face. 

“ Are you sure you wish to know ? ” 

“ Certainly.” 

“ He said you were not a fit leader for your people 

against a man with whom you were in love ! ” 


I 5 2 


HIV ERF ALL 


Drawing herself up Ellen waved adieu to her chief 
lieutenant, who took his departure with a grave counte- 
nance. He had done what he thought his duty. 

And she stood there, without moving, for a long 
time, wondering how his statement could have hurt her 
so terribly and whether the pain would ever cease. 


153 


RIVERFALL 


XIII 

Mr. Westland, Ralph and Edna were taking their 
breakfast in the cozily appointed dining-room of the 
Agency. Philip was dividing his time impartially be- 
tween the edibles, his companions and the Riverfall 
“ Times,” which he had folded and placed by his plate 
in a position convenient for reading. Edna was all 
attention, while Ralph was decidedly nneasy. The 
young fellow’s interest in Nathalie had brought him 
to see matters in a somewhat different light from form- 
erly, and he was uncomfortable to be, as one might say, 
in the camp of her enemies. 

“ Here are several paragraphs I want you both to hear,” 
said Philip, as he put down his napkin: 

Yesterday the last of the eviction notices were served by Mr. 
Carlson, the constable. Next Monday those first notified will 
be expected to vacate, and by the following Saturday all the 
corporation houses will probably be tenantless. We do not 
learn of any interference with the constable’s man after the 
first day, though his ears may have tingled if he listened to the 
remarks intended for them. 

The town authorities have been appealed to by a committee 
of the ex-employes to provide shelter for the families as fast as 
they are turned out of doors, but so far no action has been 
taken. The officials naturally do not like to offend the cor- 
poration and are in a quandary. If the town causes a fatality 
through failure to do its duty, some one will have a heavy 
responsibility. A corporation may have the legal right to 


*54 


RIVEKFALL 


close its doors to those who have helped amass its millions, but 
the public officials have no excuse to evade their responsi- 
bilities. 

A Times reporter interviewed Acting President Westland 
yesterday, but found that gentleman in a rather uncommuni- 
cative mood. All he would say was that he was proceeding 
with the entire approval of his board of directors ; that, as his 
late employes had refused for several weeks to accept the wages 
he was ready to pay, he deemed himself justified in obtaining 
possession of all his property; if the said employes desired 
advice in the emergency that had arisen, they would doubtless 
seek it of those who had counselled them hitherto. Mr. West- 
land seemed to speak without the least temper, and to believe 
he was acting as any business man would in the circumstances. 

“ That writer has succeeded very well in stating my 
position/’ said Philip, when he finished ; “ much better 
than I reason to hope, for the owner of the sheet has 
tried to force me to lend him five thousand dollars under 
threats of making it hot if I refused. The poor devil 
is on his last legs financially, and if Piverfall goes to 
pieces he will naturally go with it. Mow, as the reporter 
quotes me, there’s nothing but business in this thing. 
The houses are owned by the Corporation. They were 
built for the use of the Corporation’s employes. When 
the people cease to work for the Corporation they ought 
not even to wait for legal proceedings before getting out 
of the buildings. How can any one dispute such a self- 
evident truth ? ” 

He put the last inquiry directly to Kalph, who fidgeted 
a moment in his chair before replying. 

“ I suppose the legal side is just as you state,” he 
answered, “ but there’s something confoundedly un- 


155 


RIVERFALL 


pleasant — something un-American — in an eviction. 
Here are hundreds of families given seven days’ notice 
to get out of houses they have been accustomed to con- 
sider their homes ; families who can’t have much of any- 
thing in their pockets, and don’t know where to go at 
such short notice. It’s legal, very likely, I don’t know 
anything about that, but — hang it ! — it’s not agreeable 
to contemplate, when the property they’re asked to 
vacate is held principally in a fellow’s own family ! ” 

Mr. Westland frowned. 

“ Every one of these people,” he said, “ owes more 
than a month’s rent. All could have had steady em- 
ployment and avoided this rumpus if they had listened 

to reason instead of to ” 

“ Ellen ? ” It was Edna who interjected that word. 

“ — to labor agitators,” said Westland, supplying the 
missing syllables. “ They have brought upon them- 
selves in the most reckless manner all the inconveniences 
they endure. They have even yet time to send me word 
that they are willing to resume work at the revised 
schedule — but they won’t do it ! They have lost their 
reason and seem to follow blindly every ridiculous sug- 
gestion of ” 

“ Ellen ? ” put in Edna, softly. 

“ — of their leaders. For me to surrender now would 
be to admit that henceforth the operatives of this coun- 
try are to rule the manufacturers. Their arrogance 
would soon become unbearable. It is the old question — 
begging your pardon — whether the dog shall wag the 
tail or the tail wag the dog. Now,” he raised his voice, 
“ I will see every shuttle and bobbin in Riverfall buried 


/ 56 RI VERFALL 

a thousand feet under the soil before this shall be under 
my administration ! ” He turned to the blind girl. 
“ What do you think, Edna ? Am I not right in assum- 
ing this position ? ” 

She seemed agitated at the unexpected question, com- 
ing so directly. 

“ It seems hard, as Kalph says,” she answered, “ to 
turn people into the street ; but if it were not necessary, 
of course you wouldn’t do it. Oh, yes, it’s right ! I’m 
sure it must be ! ” 

Westland pushed back his chair and spoke with great 
earnestness. 

“ Here, in a nutshell, is my situation : I represent 
your father, who has over $1,000,000 invested in these 
mills. I am trustee for a number of other persons, who 
look to me to protect their property, and I have a large 
part of my own means (though that is a minor considera- 
tion) in the same securities. I have been given full 
power to crush this spirit of insubordination, which 
attempts to dictate what wages we shall pay, regardless 
of the state of the market, or whether we who furnish 
the capital get a penny of dividend. If we could meet 
these operatives as individuals there would be no 
trouble. Then, if one asked for more wages and was re- 
fused, he could go elsewhere and our business would 
suffer no disturbance. But the foolish people have com- 
bined to resist us at every point. Unless we take orders 
from them out will go the entire parcel, and until they 
take a notion to return our mills must shut down. Doc- 
trines like these are spreading over the country. Hot 
only is the manufacturing business becoming precarious, 


157 


RIVERFALL 


but on similar pretexts railroads are tied up and the 
production of great staples like coal and iron is sus- 
pended. The time has come for some one to make a 
stand. Either the capitalists must resist these innova- 
tions or be ruined. At the rate we have been going we 
are liable, in a few years, to have our throats cut and the 
roofs burned over our heads, as was done in the servile 
insurrection at Hayti. 

“ There is literally no limit to the demands of these 
so-called reformers,” he proceeded hotly. “ In the 
trades which they are trying to control their method is 
to get an inch this year and demand an ell next. The 
bricklayers on our last extension would work but eight 
hours a day — though we were in a great hurry for the 
building — and the contractors told me they paid more 
for eight hours than they formerly gave for ten. The 
carpenters, too, quit at five every afternoon, even where 
the property suffered because of it, and so down the en- 
tire list. Why, they say that in Hew York even the boot- 
blacks have their ‘ union/ with a ritual fit for a Scot- 
tish Rite chapter. Hot long ago, as you know, Ralph, 
people walked downtown because the transportation 
employes were on strike, and a carriage could hardly 
be had for love or money. It is no dream to say the 
cooks and chambermaids will organize next. What shall 
I do, then ? Why, show the world that there is one place 
where, even at some pecuniary loss, capitalists refuse to 
be trodden under foot. Proceeding to such extremes 
as an eviction is not pleasant, but it must be done. 
While they are comfortable in houses for which they 
pay nothing the people may defy us for months. With 


/ 5 '8 


RIVERFALL 


their home in the street they will listen to reason. Sup- 
pose that my coachman refused to drive my horses, 
should I continue to employ him? And if not him, 
why these exasperating operatives ? ” 

Amos, the old negro, entered at this juncture and an- 
nounced that Mr. Mayfield had come. Edna and Ralph 
arose to leave the room, but Philip begged both to re- 
main. 

“ I want you to hear what he says,” he told them. 
“ There will be no secrets as far as I am concerned.” 

The “ mill-hand ” showed some light surprise as he 
saw Mr. Westland’s companions, but responded gra- 
ciously to Edna’s greetings, and bowed politely to Ralph 
when presented. Then he proceeded without circum- 
locution to business. 

“ Mr. Westland, I have been asked by a committee 
of your late employes to put a question to you, which 
they trust you will find yourself willing to answer. They 
desire to know if it is certain your contemplated evic- 
tions will take place on the dates specified in the notices.” 

“ There will not be an hour’s grace,” was the firm 
reply. 

“ That was my opinion,” said Hugh, unmoved, 
“ though to please them I was willing to take it from 
your lips. How, there are not a dozen houses in town 
that can be hired, were we ever so able to pay the rent, 
which — as you may guess — we are not. We have ap- 
plied to the authorities for leave to use the public build- 
ings, but they have not yet answered, and you know they 
move slowly. We think they fear that you will be 
offended if their attitude toward us seems too friendly. 


RIVERFALL 


J 59 


To remain out of doors even one night, in this weather, 
would he uncomfortable, not to say dangerous to the 
weaker ones among our number. What I wish to ask is 
this : should we find ourselves in the street in severely 
inclement weather, would the doors of the Corporation 
houses be barred ? ” 

When he ceased it seemed for some seconds as if a 
feather falling on the heavy carpet would have jarred 
the building. Ralph leaned forward in his chair with 
strained attention. Edna seemed scarcely to breathe. 
W estland’s answer when he made it came with that dis- 
tinctness of tone that one notices in the clear, frosty 
mornings of winter. 

“ Hugh, for I will still call you by that name, the 
people of Riverfall are not children. Afl they have 
done has been deliberate, with the facts staring them 
in the face. They need not have announced their in- 
tention to leave work. There was no necessity of 
treating the corporation whose bread they have eaten 
for years so that the evictions had to follow. It is 
not I who am turning them out of doors — it is them- 
selves. Late as it is they can secure a reversal of the 
orders, not by sending committees here to argue, but by 
returning to their looms. I have been ready, ever since 
the dispute originated, to forget that it ever occurred 
and go on with the business of the company. You and 
your companions have willed it otherwise. The friendly 
relations that would exist between employer and em- 
ployes have now given place to those which govern 
belligerents.” 

Mayfield bowed gravely. 


i6o 


RIVERFALL 


“ I will convey your reply to my associates, he said. 
“ It is not different from what I expected.” 

“ I should he glad,” continued Westland, hesitating 
for suitable words to express the idea he had in mind, 
“ to except Ellen and yourself personally from these 
rigors. My home is cordially open to both of you.” 

Hugh’s resolve to suppress all evidence of impatience 
received a severe test, but he replied, politely, “ What 
I have advised my comrades to endure will be good 
enough for me. As to Ellen, I mil tell her of your 
offer.” 

Westland flushed. 

“ As her decision will doubtless be influenced by 
yours, you may as well say nothing to her on the sub- 
ject,” he said. “ It is one of the unpleasant consequences 
of my position that I cannot dissociate sentiment from 
duty.” 

u I might say — ” Hugh began, and then paused. 

“ Well? ” 

“ That 1 cannot understand how true sentiments can 
conflict with duty; or how an honorable gentleman can 
retain a position that he feels is opposed to either.” 

Hugh arose, bade each of the party adieu in turn, 
and was gone. Westland waited in vain for one of the 
others to speak first. He made a poor assumption of in- 
difference, left his chair, lit a cigar and strolled out on 
the lawn. 

When he had been gone a little while Edna spoke : 

“ I suppose I am wrong, Ralph, but my sympathies 
are strongly excited for Mr. Mayfield’s friends. Ho 
doubt Philip is right, as the law goes, but the result may 
be terrible. It is a case with two arguments, certainly 


RIVERFALL 


161 


but of one thing there is little doubt — there will be 
much suffering before it is over.” She took out her 
purse. “ Would you take a trifle of money to Ellen, 
and ask her to use it for those who have most need. 
Philip must not know of it, for I don’t wish to seem in 
opposition to him, but there can be nothing wrong in 
trying to avert pain.” 

Ralph received the purse and opened it doubtfully. 

“ How much shall I take ? ” he asked. 

“ Oh, a hundred dollars to begin with, and tell her she 
can have more if it is wanted. Yes,” she added, grow- 
ing more earnest, “ say if she needs as much again, or 
ten times as much, she has only to let me know. How 
long will it take to find her, do you think ? ” 

Her cousin started at the question. 

“ Why, is there any need of haste ? ” 

“ It may soften Hugh’s feelings toward us.” 

“ But I thought he seemed very gentle.” 

The blind girl sighed deeply. 

“ Ah, you people who see , how little you under- 
stand ! ” she exclaimed. “ I never heard a person speak 
whose heart ached like his. His words were polite 
enough on the surface, but I could detect the biting 
irony beneath. He considers us wretches who are crush- 
ing him and his fellow for our brutal pleasure. What 
he feels toward us made me tremble.” 

An hour later Ralph found Hugh, to whom he gave 
the money and message. Hugh said he could only re- 
ceive it subject to the committee’s decision. He could 
not guarantee that it would be accepted, and if not he 
;would bring or send it back immediately. 


ii 


1 62 


RIVERFALL 


“ Not — be — accepted! ” repeated Ralph, in astonish- 
ment. 

“ Possibly. They may not. feel like receiving aid from 
those who are responsible for their present condition. If 
the decision were left to me I know that would be my 
verdict. However, I shall leave it to the others, un- 
influenced by my own ideas.” 

Much moved, Ralph took another hundred from his 
own pocket and placed it with Edna’s in Hugh’s hands. 
It was nearly all he had. 

“ I hope you will keep them both,” he said, and 
moved hastily away. He wanted to see Nathalie about 
the matter, for he thought what he had done would 
please her, but he could not arrange a meeting at such 
short notice. 

That evening Hugh called at the Agency and re- 
quested to see Ralph. As the young man happened to 
be out he asked for Miss Edna. He was shown into 
one of the parlors, and soon she came toward him, grop- 
ing her way after the manner of the sightless. 

“ Mr. Mayfield,” she said, “ I am glad you have 
come again. Pray be seated.” 

Her voice was unsteady and his no less so, as he re- 
plied : 

“ You were kind enough to send some money, this 
morning, for the use of our committee ” 

“ Only a very little,” she interrupted. 

“ Which they have directed me to return to you.” 

Edna was a woman, and her disappointment was 
great. Tears began to course down her cheeks, much 
to the embarrassment of Hugh. 


RIVERFALL 


i6 3 


“ Here is your gift and also that of your messenger, 
with which he supplemented it,” Hugh went on, as 
well as he could, laying the money on a table. “ You 
will pardon me, I trust, if I cannot give the reasons 
that actuated us. These are times when ordinary rules 
do not prevail.” 

She was quite crushed, hut managed to stammer that 
she was sure he and his friends had done what they 
thought right; that she had only meant to show the state „ 
of her heart; and that he and Ellen would still receive 
the full measure of her sympathy, which they could 
not reject. He hade her a kind good-by, hut his eyes 
were moist when he left the house. 

When Kalph came home Edna told him, and he was 
not, on the whole, greatly surprised. As her gift had 
been refused she thought it no harm to tell Mr. West- 
land also of what she had done, hut he only listened with 
wide opened eyes and said nothing. 


RIVERFALL 


164. 


XIV 

Nathalie LaVerre awoke in her little chamber in the 
Corporation tenement, and saw the sun peeping in at 
the window. Miss Flaherty, her roommate, was still 
wrapped in slumber, and her honest Irish face lay, with 
the rosy hue of youth and health upon it, on the pillow. 
It was the day when this building must be vacated, ac- 
cording to the notice on the door: e( You will render 
up the said premises before twelve of the clock at mid- 
day.” And after that, what? After the girls’ meagre 
furniture, and the trunks containing their clothing — 
and the girls themselves — had been placed in the public 
street, what then? 

Nathalie had pondered a good deal over this problem, 
but she felt no uneasiness. She had the fullest confid- 
ence in the ability of Ellen to arrange everything. . 

A slight tap came on the door and the French girl 
found the object of her thoughts at the threshold. 
Ellen glanced in, saw that Miss Flaherty was still 
asleep, and whispered to Nathalie to come, as soon as 
she was dressed, to her room across the entry. 

When Nathalie responded a more earnest look even 
than usual was apparent on Ellen’s face. 

“ By noon,” she began, “ more than two hundred of 
our families will be homeless. The authorities have not 
yet given us leave to enter the public buildings, but I 
have no doubt they will do so. We must, however, be 


RIVE UFA LL 55555555555 ^^^ 

prepared for the worst. I want you at hand to carry out 
my directions during the entire day. I know I can trust 
you entirely.” 

The girl felt that these expressions were complimen- 
tary to her honesty, and her eyes brightened. 

“ There is a teamster named Donovan,” Ellen pro- 
ceeded, “ who will allow us to store goods in some sheds 
belonging to him. We must retain, however, such 
things as mattresses and other bedding, which we shall 
need wherever we sleep. Here are a quantity of tags 
to be marked with names, so that the owners can dis- 
tinguish their property when night comes. If we find 
ourselves short of enough to go round, we who are 
young and strong will yield to the weaker ones.” 

^Nathalie showed that she agreed heartily with this. 

“ We shall have to cook in the street and the kitchen 
utensils must also be marked. All must give up what- 
ever food they have on hand, to be distributed by the 
committees. What money we have, or may receive, will 
be made to last as long as possible. When it is gone the 
town must aid us ; it cannot let us starve.” 

By noon the last article in the houses on that day’s 
list had been peaceably removed without the interven- 
tion of the law. The constable who came to lock the 
doors witnessed a strange sight. Household goods were 
piled along the curb for many rods, and the dispos- 
sessed were partaking of frugal meals served in the most 
primitive manner. Several little ones were crying dis- 
mally, as if from conviction that doleful consequences 
were impending and an aged grandam was complaining 
in a high key that she had been “ taken from a dacint 


i66 


RIVERFALL 


room and t’rown like a bushel of coal into the gutter.” 
But most of the party were strangely — almost suspi- 
ciously — passive. And so the constable reported, later, 
to Mr. Westland. 

The acting-president did not go down to the village 
that day at all. He stayed at his office, constantly hop- 
ing that signs of surrender would arrive, and not wish- 
ing to be away from his post. He started with pleasure 
when, about four o’clock, the servant came to report 
that a delegation of his ex-employes was outside. At 
last ! 

“ Ask them to come in,” he said, bracing himself for 
the ordeal. 

But the servant soon returned with a request from 
the visitors that he would come to the door. The sun 
was low and it was rather chilly, so Mr. Westland 
stopped to don a light overcoat, which gave him time 
also to crush down the indignation that followed the 
refusal of his invitation. A faint suspicion that they 
meant him bodily harm was also met and disposed of. 
Such things had acompanied labor troubles before now, 
but Ellen had this one in hand on the employes’ side, 
and nothing of that sort could occur. As he stepped 
upon the veranda he saw that a group of about a dozen 
persons awaited him, among whom his first glance in- 
cluded Ellen and Hugh. 

“ My friends,” he said, in a firm voice, “ I am told 
that you wish to see me, and in the next breath that you 
decline to enter my house. I presume you come to 
make some proposal in reference to your controversy 
with the Great Central Corporation. If so, why do you 
not come in, where we can talk at our ease.” 


167 


RIVER FALL 


All the other members of the committee looked at 
Ellen. When she raised her eyes and directed their 
gaze at Westland she spoke in deep earnestness, but with 
all courtesy : 

u Having been consigned, sir, to the streets of River- 
fall, by your order, we would not presume to intrude 
upon the floor of your home. If the outdoor air is not 
too inclement for our abode it will suffice for the brief 
interview we desire. By your direction some five hun- 
dred persons have to-day been rendered houseless. Many 
of them are infirm old men, some are weak women and 
helpless children. A night in the open will be injurious 
to all, perhaps fatal to some. The town authorities de- 
cline to give us shelter, and we have heard that their 
hesitation is largely based on fear of offending you. We 
have come to inquire, therefore, if President Westland 
has intimated a wish that his late employes should find 
not only their recent lodgings but the public edifices 
closed against them.” 

During this statement Philip had time to collect him- 
self, and when he opened his mouth he spoke like a man 
of iron : 

“ President Westland does not understand by what 
right your committee assumes to question him. A 
month after your people had announced their disinclina- 
tion to continue in his employ at the wages he was will- 
ing to pay, long after most of them were in arrears for 
rent, he asked possession of his tenements. Hot one of 
those for whom you speak cared enough about retaining 
his home to announce a desire to resume work. To-day 
a part of the buildings have been given up, and, I am 


i68 


RIVER FALL 


glad to say, in a peaceable manner. Before the end of 
the week the others will also, I trust, be vacated. As 
to your query, I am not an officer of the town, but only 
of the Corporation, and my interest ceases when its 
orders are obeyed.” 

Ellen listened without taking her eyes from his face. 

“ May we say to the town officers that President W est- 
land does not object to their giving shelter to his ex- 
employes and their helpless families ? ” 

He answered her without moving a muscle of his 
rigid frame: 

“ I shall continue to remain here, as I have done for 
the past four weeks, ready to transact any business that 
requires my attention. The directors have given me 
full authority to act for them. If your committee has 
any question to ask in reference to the mills it will find 
me always at its service; but if the authorities of River- 
fall are in ignorance of their duty, which I hesitate to 
believe, they must apply elsewhere than to me — either 
in person or by proxy — for information.” 

As he closed there came, borne on the evening air, the 
faint sound of shouting in the distance, mingled with 
the just discernible beating of drums. It came from the 
direction of the railway station, and in the curiosity it ex- 
cited the conference was suspended. It was soon evi- 
dent that some unusual occurrence was exciting the 
population, for the sounds grew louder and the streets 
were seen to be filled with moving throngs, while orderly 
ranks of marching men came like a wave behind them. 
Pilled with wonder Mr. Westland followed his visitors 
to the principal “ square,” from which they saw — first, 


KIVEKFALL 


i6g 

a number of boys, running backwards and forwards; 
next a retreating throng of people of all ages ; and then 
a drum corps and body of militia, marching in their 
direction. A few moments later the soldiers, numbering 
three companies, were halted by their commander, who 
immediately approached Mr. Westland, saluted and 
asked to see him in private. 

The crowd, now numbering nearly the entire popula- 
tion, pressed forward, eager to know what was to be 
done. Mr. W estland spoke loud enough to be heard by 
all. 

“ Pardon me, Colonel Caswell, we can have no pri- 
vate conversation at this time. If you have anything to 
tell me, in the discharge of your duty, I wish every 
person present to hear it.” 

A murmur of approval went through the assemblage. 
President W estland was not a popular man in Riverf all 
that day, but the militia colonel was still less so. Many 
a peaceably disposed crowd has been exasperated by the 
sight of bayonets. 

“ Very well,” replied Colonel Caswell. “ I have been 
sent here by order of the Governor upon representations 
that the local police may be insufficient to protect prop- 
erty and preserve the peace. I called my men together 
hastily and chartered a special train. My orders were 
to consult with you, as representing the largest interests 
here, in relation to the best points to place my guards.” 

All eyes were turned again upon Westland, who re- 
sponded with dignity : 

“ I have no advice or suggestion to offer you, 
Colonel, as the presence of your force was neither re- 


iyo 


RIVERFALL 


quested nor desired by me. I know of no emergency 
that is likely to require your aid. The inhabitants of 
Riverfall seem perfectly quiet and orderly. If they 
have been otherwise the fact has escaped my observa- 
tion.” 

Colonel Caswell bowed politely. 

“ My only mission,” he said, “ is to assist the town 
authorities ; if there is no call for my services I shall be 
all the better satisfied. ISTow, will you kindly direct me 
to the house of the chairman that I may present myself 
to him and explain my errand ? ” 

The required direction was given, the command to 
march was obeyed, and with drums again rolling the 
soldiers filed through the village. As Mr. Westland met 
Ellen he lifted his hat and paused. 

“ Allow me to say, sir, that I am glad you had no part 
in the perpetration of this outrage,” she said, impres- 
sively. 

But he answered imperturbably and clearly enough 
to be heard by all : 

“ While I had nothing to do with asking for these 
soldiers, I cannot agree in the term you use. It is no 
outrage on a law-abiding people to send a body of citizen 
soldiery into their midst with no other object than to see 
that the peace is preserved. It is only to those who in- 
tend to break the law that the military is a menace. ETow, 
before you go, let me say one thing more. There is yet 
time for the late employes of the Great Central Cor- 
poration to make overtures looking to resumption of 
work in its mills. Within three days — if you say the 
word — the hum of industry can be heard in yonder 


i7i 


RIVERFALL 


walls, and the Corporation buildings again be filled with 
their tenants. The time in which this may be done is, I 
assure you solemnly, very brief indeed. In a fortnight, 
if things go on as now, the machinery will begin to be re- 
moved and the buildings will be let for other uses. If 
you are determined to destroy this place as a cotton 
manufacturing centre you have only to pursue your 
course a very little longer. If, on the contrary, we are 
ever to bring Riverfall to its old prosperity, you must 
move without further delay/’ 

And Ellen’s voice was as firm as his when she re- 
sponded : 

“ We left those mills because a rate of wages that 
barely served to support life was to be cut still lower. 
If the Corporation could endorse such a reduction it 
could make another. The crisis must come sometime.” 

“ Permit me to ask in what respect you have improved 
your condition?” was his quiet comment. “ You say 
you had low wages; admitted, for argument’s sake. 
But what have you now? Five weeks ago you had 
money coming to you each payday, roofs over your 
heads, food in your larders. You have exchanged these 
— for what ? ” 

It was a terrific strain upon him to talk thus to her. 
Delicate phrases that seemed suited to the ear of woman 
could have no place in a contest such as this. She was 
worthy of his best steel, and he saw she would meet him 
at every point with a blade as quick and sharp as his 
own. The war was not one he fancied, but he saw no 
escape from carrying it on to the bitter end. Bitter 
indeed, it might be, too, he knew full well! 


I 7 2 ^s-sss-s—sss-sz KIVERFALL 

u For what, do you ask, have we exchanged your food 
and shelter ? ” she repeated, scathingly. “ For manhood 
and womanhood ! W e were never created for slavery — 
we sons and daughters of the white races of Europe! 
The blood in our veins is as good as that of the men who 
chose to think themselves our masters. Our bonds 
became unendurable and we have elected to suffer death, 
if need be, rather than chattelhood! It is a time for 
another Arnold Winkelreid. If we must die to arouse 
the American conscience, so let it be. Mark me, Presi- 
dent Westland! The spectacle of these poor people 
driven out of doors by a Corporation whose wealth they 
have quintupled will have an effect throughout the land. 
The slow brain of the giant Labor is awakening! Hot 
much longer will he allow himself to be led in chains by 
the dwarf Capital. When he does turn let us pray that 
he will not crush the life out of his oppressors — let us 
hope that he will show a magnanimity that has never 
been shown to him. He has the power to be free; all 
he lacks is the intelligence, and that he is gaining 
hourly. Those who have bowed the knee will soon stand 
erect; those who have begged for terms will dictate 
them. It may be that all here will not see the day, but 
it is coming! Already the dawn can be discerned in 
the East. You think the Brotherhood of Man a dream 
of enthusiasts. Soon it will be an accomplished fact ! ” 

Feeling it useless to prolong the discussion Ellen 
turned, and, followed by several hundred people, re- 
turned to her home, or at least the little heap of house- 
hold goods that represented it. It was nearly dark. 
Many of the houseless ones had already prepared to 


i?3 


RIVERFALL 


sleep out of doors and make themselves as comfortable 
as they could with blankets. Others had accepted the 
hospitality of friends, and crowded into the already too 
well filled tenements in which the notices to vacate gave 
a day or two longer grace. The weather had been un- 
usually mild for the season, but a deep chill was in the 
air and some predicted snow. After a light repast Ellen 
asked Hugh to accompany her on one more errand to 
Mr. Hunt, chairman of the town officers, to make a final 
plea for shelter for the weakest. They were stopped, 
however, at his gate, by a soldier, who barred the way 
with his rifle. 

“ Halt ! ” he said, abruptly. 

Somewhat astonished Hugh stated their desire to 
speak to Chairman Hunt. The soldier called his cor- 
poral, who after a parley undertook to deliver the mes- 
sage. In a short time the official appeared in his door- 
way, looking much disturbed. 

“ How do you do ? ” he said, in a shaking voice. <c I’m 
sorry I can’t ask you in, but — er — what do you wish ? ” 

" It is past sundown,” responded Hugh, who by 
Ellen’s desire had agreed to act as spokesman, “ and 
several hundred of your fellow townspeople are out of 
doors. If they are to be sheltered for the night, which 
seems likely to be a severe one, no time should be lost. 
We appeal to you again, as the legal custodian, to open 
one of the public buildings and allow us to enter.” 

Something seemed to stick in Chairman Hunt’s 
throat. He cleared it several times before he managed 
to answer. 

“ My associates, at our meeting this afternoon, de- 
cided that we had no — no right — to use the town build- 


1 74 


RIVERFALL 


ings for such a purpose. They — the buildings, I mean 
— have recently been painted and repaired at much 
expense. We think — they — are not suited exactly to 
the purposes — of — lodging-houses.” 

Hugh turned on him savagely. 

“ Do you mean to let women and children freeze on 
such a flimsy pretext as that ! ” he cried. 

“ It is not necessary,” faltered the chairman. “ There 
is yet time, I think, to see Mr. Westland and get back 
into the houses you have vacated — ” 

“ At his terms ! ” interrupted Hugh, with set teeth. 

“ At his terms,” assented the chairman, eagerly. “ I 
am sure ” 

Hugh’s voice sounded like the roar of a lion. 

“ You refuse to shelter our women and children, even 
if they die of cold ? Is that your final decision % ” 

“ We — we think best not.” 

The pair turned on their heels without another word. 

“ You must not lose your temper,” whispered Ellen, 
gently, taking her companion by the arm. “ It is ex- 
asperating, I admit, but we must bear such things with, 
external calmness, at least.” 

Before they had gone far a militia sergeant came 
running toward them and touched his hat to Ellen. 

“ I beg your pardon, he said, hurriedly. “ Though 
you may think us your enemies the truth is, I believe, 
quite the opposite in most cases. I wish they had set me 
about some other duty than protecting the heartless old 
fool you have just left, but I must obey orders. I ad- 
vise you to see Colonel Caswell. He is a thorough 
gentleman, and will help you in any way he can.” 

Ellen thanked the man, but did not act on his advice. 


*75 


RIVERFALL 


She told Hugh instead that her next step would be an 
appeal to the churches. A sneer was on his lip, but she 
took pains not to look at him, and it passed unobserved. 

During the next hour they visited several clergy- 
men, who told substantially the same story. While 
sympathizing with all in distress, they had no power 
to open their houses of worship for such a peculiar pur- 
pose. The standing committee, perhaps, or the wardens 
— or someone else — might have such right, but a regu- 
larly called meeting would be necessary, which would 
take some time. How long? Well, perhaps a week 
or more.” 

Eeturning to the temporary camp on the sidewalk 
they met Colonel Caswell, who was evidently looking for 
them. One of the men introduced him, and he pro- 
ceded to say what he had in mind. 

“ My position is a delicate one. My orders practically 
place me under the direction of Mr. Hunt till I hear 
further from the Governor or Adjutant-General. At 
his request I have placed a guard around each of the 
town buildings to prevent any one entering them, as 
well as at his house. But I have several tents which are 
at my own disposal, and seeing the unpleasant condition 
of your people I wish to offer them for those most in 
need.” 

It was the first ray of sunshine Ellen had seen, and it 
came from a most unexpected source. She grasped the 
hand of the officer. 

“ You are a true man, sir ! ” she said. “ But I fear 
that by accepting your offer I shall incommode you more 
than I ought.” 

“Have no fear on our account,” answered the Colonel, 


i/6 


a RIVERFALL 


smiling. “ I and my commissioned officers have secured 
accommodation at the hotel, and it is our .own tents I 
offer you. Though the hotel is owned by the Corpora- 
tion, the landlord did not refuse our application, as I 
understand he did yours. I will show you which tents 
you can have, and you may occupy them at your con- 
venience.” 

The party went over to inspect the tents and Ellen, 
after a little talk with Hugh, accepted them with many 
expressions of gratitude. The work of separating the 
more delicate from the houseless groups was at once 
begun. Aged women, nursing mothers and little babes 
were taken first. Occasional exhibitions of selfishness 
cropped out, but a word from Ellen always settled the 
matter. 

A murmur went through the camp as the militiamen 
noticed the strange sight — their officers’ quarters given 
over to the operatives they had come to Riverfall to 
suppress. Then, when the soldiers began to realize that 
nothing but these canvas walls stood between the people 
and a frosty night, the best side of the men came out. 
Consultations were held here and there, and soon the 
colonel was begged to permit his men to crowd closer 
so that several more tents could be used for the sufferers. 
To this request he gave consent without delay. The 
entire number would now serve to house the women 
and children, by packing them like sardines, and a few 
of the aged men were also provided for. 

“ Don’t worry about the rest, Ellen,” said Hugh. 
“ Most of us have overcoats and there are a good many 
blankets. We are tough and hearty. I would be quite 
at ease if I knew what we are to do with the eight hun- 


i?7 


RIVER FALL 


dred women and children who are to he turned out of 
doors to-morrow.” 

Her gentle glance reproved him. 

“ May we not leave that to God ? ” she asked. “ He 
who has done so much will still protect us, if we trust 
Him. I shall pray for every soul in Riverfall to-night, 
that He will have them in His holy keeping ! ” 

“ Every soul ! ” he echoed, meaningly. “ Shall you 
pray for Philip Westland? ” 

“ Eor him above all,” she replied, devoutly. “ I do 
not know a man more in need of Heaven’s grace. Good- 
night, my friend.” 

When she was in her crowded tent, Ellen lifted to 
her Maker a long and earnest supplication. She prayed 
for the homeless poor, for the sick and infirm, for the 
young and for the old; she asked strength of body and 
wisdom of judgment ; she prayed for patience, for power 
to submit to the Divine will, whatever it might be. And 
especially, as she had promised Hugh, did she pray for 
the acting-president of the Corporation, that honest and 
misguided man, who would only have, she conceived, to 
comprehend his error to abandon it. 

“ Bless him, dear God,” she cried in her heart, “ bur- 
dened with heavy responsibility and blinded to his true 
duty. Oh, lift the veil from his eyes, I pray thee ! ” 
She also commended to Heaven by name Edna West- 
land and Ralph Melbourg, and finally, though she had 
not expected to sleep so soon, exhaustion overcame her. 
The last sound she heard was the sharp voice of a sentry 
as he challenged some late passer in that armed camp 
which had been so lately the peaceful village of River- 
fall. 


13 


178 


KIVERFALL 


xv 

The latest tiff which Ralph had had with Mile. La 
Yerre troubled him not a little. He had seen her in so 
many different moods that he did not believe this one 
would last, and yet the situation was far from agreeable. 
In the old days, in the city, no matter how angry she 
might be when he left her, it was easy to arrange a new 
modus vivendi. Here in Riverfall they could not meet 
without an elaborate arrangement, and there was always 
danger that some one would discover them and miscon- 
strue the occurrence. He reflected also that it was 
as easy for her to seek a meeting as for him, and he 
tried to arouse his pride. Why should he be the only 
one to ask a renewal of friendship? But the more he 
tried to blot Nathalie’s image from his heart the stronger 
it grew there. Absence ever makes the lover fonder. 

One day, in the course of a long talk with Edna in 
relation to the evictions, he decided to tell x her that 
Nathalie was in Riverfall, and see if she could not find 
some way to aid him. He knew while technically she 
stood on Phil’s side, her tender heart was grieved at the 
sufferings of the operatives. So he revealed the story, 
concealing nothing. 

“ Well you are a conspirator ! she cried. “ To intro- 
duce a spy into the camp of the opposition was a master 
thought. The fact that it has worked so poorly is your 
misfortune. And in the meantime — my poor boy — you 


i79 


RIVERFALL 


are deprived, not only of information but of your in- 
formant.” 

“ That’s the meanest part of it,” he assented, dole- 
fully. “ I’d let the whole confounded row go to blazes, 
if I could get her to New York, and myself with her. 
You can’t imagine how awfully dull it is without her, 
these long evenings ! Whether I’ll ever get her back now 
is a question. Likely as not she’ll marry one of those 
mill-hands in a fit of pique. She told me the other 
evening one had proposed to her already.” 

Edna was immensely interested in this drama from 
real life, and wanted the fullest details. 

“ Whatever did you manage to quarrel about ? ” she 
asked. “ When two young people are very much in love 
it seems as if they could overlook small things. You 
should have more good sense, cousin.” 

He sighed deeply. 

“ I wish you could get acquainted with Nathalie,” he 
said, with a long breath. “ She’s the most obstinate — 
the dearest, sweetest — most exasperating child that ever 
wore petticoats. I can’t tell, myself, what we do quarrel 
about — it seems like nothing at all, when I look back at 
it. This time she told me of a fellow named Flaherty 
who wanted to marry her — and then she admitted she 
didn’t care a rap for him, and loved me as much as I 
love her.” 

“ I don’t see any chance for a quarrel there.” 

“ No. It seemed all right again; but we got to talking 
about the mill trouble. She said she should stand by 
Ellen, whatever happened, and that Phil would have to 
give in. That nettled me, of course, and — in a minute 
— it was all off again.” 


iRIVEKFALL 


180 


The blind girl laughed. 

“ After which you made up, as usual ? ” 

“ No. She was gone, the next thing I knew. Gone 
out into the dark night; and Fve never seen her since. 
I mustered up courage to go to the house where she 
lives, this evening, for I knew she roomed across the 
hall from Ellen. But — just my luck — that happened to 
be one of the buildings emptied to-day. The front door 
was locked and sealed by the constable.” 

The listener uttered a little cry. 

“ Then she — Ellen — has no roof over her head to- 
night ? ” 

“I suppose not; nor Nathalie, either. One is about as 
stubborn as the other, and Phil is as bad as both put 
together. Why couldn’t he have made some sort of 
compromise, and kept them at work? He was so high 
and mighty it set them off at half-cock. Yes, those two 
women and hundreds of other people are trying the open 
air cure, because neither side had wisdom enough to act 
reasonably.” 

Edna drew her chair closer to the grate, in which a 
pleasant fire of sea-coal was burning. She was thinking 
deeply. Eor the first time the real horror of what the 
Corporation was doing began to impress itself upon her 
mind. Occasionally the wind shook one of the window 
sashes, proving that the air was not of summer mildness. 
The girl tried to imagine the scene occurring within half 
a mile of the cozy corner where she sat ; and it made her 
shiver. 

“ Where is Philip ? ” she asked, finally. 

“ In the office, I presume. He says he shall stay 


RIVERFALL 


181 


there every one of his waking hours to let the work- 
people seek him if they wish. Lord! They’ll freeze 
and starve before they’ll give in. Ellen is supreme, 
Nathalie says, and she has the stuff in her that martyrs 
are made of. I expect the soldiers will fire on somebody 
before the night is over. They always do, and it’s gen- 
erally an innocent person that gets hit. What good it 
all does is more than I can tell. Phil says after the first 
of the month I’ll have to go to work somewhere. 
There’ll be no dividends while this goes on.” 

She leaned toward him and rested her hands on her 
knees. 

“ And knowing this, you gave a hundred dollars to 
help those unfortunates ! Ealph, I think you’re the 
dearest, noblest boy in the whole world ! ” 

“ Pshaw ! ” he retorted, blushing. “ I couldn’t see 
them die, with money in my pocket, could I — and per- 
haps Nathalie among them?” 

“ How much have you left ? ” 

“ Very little. Let’s talk of something else. It makes 
me blue to think of it. Work ! What can I do ? If the 
mills were running Phil might give me a place in the 
office, but now — ” 

She stood up and began to stroke his hair softly. 

“ You’re not going to make me believe you’re any- 
thing but a generous, whole-souled boy, and I’m proud 
of you,” she murmured. “ As for what money you 
want you have only to borrow of me till your income 
begins to come again. Now, don’t refuse too soon. You 
are sure to need some, and luckily I have a pretty fair 
balance in the bank, while my wants are few. As for 


RIVERFALL 


182 


that little girl of jours I’m just dying to meet her, and 
I beg you to arrange it as soon as you can. The way she 
has fallen under Ellen’s influence is not at all to her 
discredit, in my eyes. It shows that she has an impres- 
sionable heart, and is full of sympathy, which is one of 
the most lovable attributes a woman can have. Phil 
has a tender side, too — I know by the beautiful way he 
has treated me all these years. I can tell by the tones 
of his voice he is distressed at what Pm sure he means 
for the best. The whole weight of this trouble is on 
his shoulders. I wonder why Mr. Baker could not re- 
lieve him from part of the strain. He used to be papa’s 
right-hand man before Phil came.” 

Ealph sniffed at the mention of that name. When 
Edna inquired the reason he hinted more than he wished 
to say openly about the treasurer’s character. The in- 
sults that Ellen had borne were no secret in Kiverfall, 
though she had never breathed a word of them. His 
own meeting with the treasurer — that night with Natha- 
lie — had not left a pleasant impression. He knew also 
that Phil disliked the man and had as little as possible 
to do with him. 

“ You had best go to bed,” said Ralph at last. “ Noth- 
ing will happen after this hour. It’s past ten now.” 

“ Will you go, too ? ” she inquired. 

“ No. I couldn’t sleep if I did. I wonder if Nathalie 
is comfortably fixed. It’s particularly senseless in her 
to go through these hardships when she could just as 
well take the train back to the city. She wouldn’t let 
me lend her a penny, if she were starving, and she won’t 
leave here, for she believes she can be of use to Ellen, 
who has hypnotized her, I really believe.” 


KIVERFALL 7 s 3 

Meantime Mr. Westland paced tlie floor of his office. 
Sleep had of late been a stranger to his eyes. He began 
to look haggard, and found, to his astonishment, that 
he had nerves which could be painfully jarred. A life- 
long habit of early hours and undisturbed rest was 
broken up. His appetite had left him. 

He hoped that continuous walking would induce sleep, 
but its only effect was to make him more wakeful than 
ever. He tried it for a long time, knowing how much 
he needed the rest that persistently evaded him. At 
last, at nearly one o’clock, he donned his hat and over- 
coat and sallied out. 

It was undoubtedly chilly. The coat was necessary 
for comfort even, as he walked along. He strolled aim- 
lessly toward the village. The Town Hall loomed upon 
his vision and, as he was wondering if any of the people 
had found shelter there, he heard a sharp command to 
halt. A sentry disputed his passage. 

It is a peculiar sensation, when you find yourself 
challenged for the first time by an armed man in uni- 
form, who places the point of a bayonet within a few 
inches of your breast and bids you pause. As the order 
rang out Westland felt a distinct shock. In his pre- 
occupied state of mind he had quite forgotten for the 
moment Colonel Caswell’s men. 

The wanderer retreated without replying. It did not 
occur to him to say, “I am Philip Westland, acting- 
president of the Corporation which owns everything in 
Riverfall, even the ground on which you stand.” He 
had come in contact with a force before which stouter 
minds have quailed. Besides, he had no desire to excite 


I8£ ^^ 55 ^ RIVERFALL 

controversy, and one direction was as agreeable as an- 
other. He wandered on. Twice more he was stopped by 
the words, “ You cannot pass.” Once the reason was 
given that people were asleep on the sidewalk and must 
not be disturbed. Again, “Only women and children can 
enter here. These are the officers’ quarters.” 

Westland followed the last man’s finger curiously, and 
saw in the gloom the canvas houses on the common, 
looking weird and out of place. 

“ You would do well to get away from the lines,” 
added the soldier, kindly. “ In this section you are in 
constant danger.” 

“ Only women and children ! ” 

He understood now. The militia sent to protect the 
interests of the mill owners had housed some of their 
enemies in its own tents ! He had heard the efficacy of 
citizen troops doubted in case of civil outbreak. Already 
these were fraternizing with the populace. Truly, he 
reflected, a nice state of affairs ! Then his heart gave 
a great throb. 

“ Ellen ! ” 

Undoubtedly she was sleeping — if indeed she slept 
at all — in one of these tents on the common. She had 
been among the first to be evicted from her tenement — 
he had, in fact, ordered it so. Since she controlled these 
foolish people she should be the earliest to know what 
her obstinacy meant. And she was there — within a 
hundred yards of him — the proud, unbending queen, 
who defied him to his teeth and who had a power greater 
than his own ! She rested there at the head of her un- 
yielding forces, while he, the captain of the opposing 


HIVERFALL 


£*S 

army, could rest nowhere. The first skirmish was over 
and she held her ground. 

“ But to-morrow/’ he mused, biting his lips, “ she will 
be put to a severer test. When eight hundred of her 
followers are dispossessed of their tenements, where 
will she put them ? The next day eight hundred others 
will follow, and the next eight hundred more. By 
Saturday night nearly all the inhabitants will be out of 
doors.” He drew his overcoat closer and shivered. 

“ Heavens ! how cold it is ! ” he muttered. 

He strolled slowly back toward the Agency, not with 
any intention of going in, for the open air suited his 
mood better than the silence of the house. It was 
past two. His only object now was to keep away from 
the challenging soldiers. As he neared the house fie saw 
two female figures at an upper window, and presently 
one of them opened the sash and spoke. 

“ Mr. Westland?” 

“ Yes, Mollie.” 

“ Are you coming in ? ” 

It was Miss W estland’s maid, and Edna stood by her 
side. 

“ Hot for a little while. I’m not sleepy. Don’t 
mind me.” 

“ I want to come out with you,” said Edna. “ I also 
am wakeful, and I think a walk would do me good.” 

Mr. Westland replied, “ Certainly; but wrap up well. 
Take all the time you need.” 

It seemed odd that his fragile cousin should be dressed 
at that hour, with such a request on her lips. But he had 
ceased to think anything too remarkable for Riverfall 


i86 


RIVERFALL 


in its present topsy-turvy condition. In a town where 
a representative of the owners could be stopped by a 
soldier nothing could surprise him much. 

Presently Edna appeared, warmly dressed, and took 
his arm. Mollie followed at a respectful distance, just 
out of earshot. 

“ Where shall we go ? ” he asked. 

“ Down to the village.” 

“ The soldiers have guards at every point. I have 
been challenged several times.” 

“ Let us go as near as we can.” 

They walked on in silence for several minutes, and 
the girl asked — 

“ Why are the soldiers here ? ” 

“ Apparently to furnish lodgings for people who are 
driving me to distraction,” he answered, with a sneer. 
“ Half of those evicted to-day are now sleeping in tents 
these fellows lent them, I understand.” 

“ Half, Philip ? Which half ? ” 

“ The women and children,” he repeated, lowering 
his voice. 

He knew by the clasp she gave his arm that she was 
glad and it did not astonish him. It was only another 
instance of the queer upsettings that were taking place. 

“ Are you sorry they are under cover, Philip ? ” Edna 
asked, after a pause. 

“ Sorry ? If Why should I be sorry ? They. are out 
of the company’s houses. What does it matter to me 
where they go ? ” 

She waited a little. 

“ It is a cold night,” she said, clinging closer to him. 
“ Yes.” 


^TVE^EALL^ 5=gSSS5S^= ==5££S5~ J#? 

“ And are some of the people really trying to sleep out 
of doors ? ” 

“ All of the men, I suppose. And the women would 
be but for the meddlesomeness of that militia colonel.” 

She stopped suddenly, releasing her arm. 

“ Do you mean you would prefer they endured this 
cold unprotected? You need go no further. I will 
call Mollie ” 

He took her arm and replaced it within his own. 

“ I shall escort you home,” he answered, sternly. 
“ Two women cannot wander about after nightfall in 
a town filled with ruffians and soldiers ! ” 

She submitted passively. For several seconds she had 
difficulty in keeping pace with him, and then his walk 
grew even slower than ordinary. 

“ You know all about this,” he began to say, queru- 
lously. “ You know the whole story — how these foolish 
people have deprived themselves of their houses and 
occupation. And yet you talk as if it were my fault ! ” 

“ Ho, Philip,” she corrected, very gently, “ I do not 
know whose fault it is. I will leave that for wiser heads 
to determine. I only know it is too cold to stop out of 
doors to-night.” 

“ Why didn’t they stay indoors , then ? ” he snapped. 
“ I have told that woman that at the first indication of 
intention to resume work every eviction notice will be 
taken down. But no ! They are determined to break 
me and they reckon with the wrong man ! I have or- 
dered them out and out every soul of them shall go, 
unless they come and ask clemency in the proper spirit.” 

She waited a little while again, anxious to say the 
right thing, and uncertain how to shape her thoughts. 


j 88 


RIVE BEFALL 


“ If ” — she began, and paused again. “ If — I was 
thinking; if — any of them should die — from the ex- 
posure ? ” 

She could feel, though she could not see, the glare 
of his eyes as he turned them upon her. 

11 Well ! I wonder if you would lay that on me ! If 
there are fatalities the blame will be on those who led 
them to this extreme. They cannot ascribe it to a 
man who has persistently and consistently held out the 
olive branch ! ” 

Edna answered quietly 

“ Then you think the entire fault is Ellen’s ? ” 

He started at that name. She felt how it thrilled 
him, for to her acute senses his very heartbeats were 
distinguishable. 

Philip’s voice shook as he answered, “ It is the fault 
of any one who led them into this terrible error.” 

“ Ralph tells me they obey Ellen like an army. Then, 
if a death results from these evictions, she will be a 
murderess. And yet they say you love her ! ” 

She used the term deliberately,- prepared to take the 
consequences, whatever they might be. . She wanted to 
stir the deepest depths in his nature. To her surprise 
Westland retained the composure into which he had 
fallen. 

“ Who says that ? ” he asked, calmly. 

“ It is a common belief among the people.” 

“ Who told you?” 

“ Ralph. He has been in a position to hear much 
within the past two or three days. One of the men 
coupled your name with Ellen’s in a public harangue, 
and was that night expelled from the union,” 


RIVERFALL 


i8g 


Edna was puzzled when Philip made no response to 
this statement. It was as if his brain had grown dull. 

u You will remember, she continued, “ when we first 
spoke of her, I told you it was a case of love on your 
part.” 

He slackened his already snail-like pace and spoke 
with great earnestness. 

“ My dear girl, even if what you say were true, would 
it make less plain my duty to protect the interests of my 
employers and wards ? Could I give way to sentiments 
that imperilled my obligations? You never knew me 
troubled as I have been for the past month. My heart 
is naturally tender, but I have had to steel it. It is 
my nature to say pleasant things, and I have been com- 
pelled to use harsh words. Do you think I find it agree- 
able to contemplate the spectacle of homeless, shiver- 
ir.g men and women ? You know me too well. A great 
question has been given me to solve and until it is settled 
I must sink all else, no matter at what pain to myself. 
The suffering caused by such disturbances as this is 
incalculable. I intend to make such an example here 
that labor troubles in America will come to a permanent 
end. Hitherto the people have been treated like chil- 
dren, who get whatever they want if they only cry loud 
enough. If I prove that a strike cannot be successful 
they never will strike again. On the other hand, if I 
let them win, all the capital in the country will be at 
their mercy. The market will fall into a state of chaos ; 
shut-downs will no longer be a matter of choice but 
necessity ; and the laborer himself will find a precarious 
livelihood, instead of the regular wages that have ex- 


KIVERFALL 


i go 

isted. I must even forget friendships that are very dear 
to me. If there is a man in Riverfall whom I esteem it 
is Hugh Mayfield. Ho woman I ever met has a more 
noble and unselfish mind than Ellen. On the one hand 
is the regard I feel for these people and my sympathy 
for those they have led wrongly; on the other is my 
clear duty. Ho, Edna, my feet shall never be seduced 
from the plain path, though it be planted thick with 
thorns and overhung with brambles ! ” 

The blind girl listened with strained attention. Eor 
a moment she wavered. 

“ Mistaken sentiment would injure both our people 
and our stockholders,” added Philip, after a pause. 
“ But if things are allowed to take their course the mills 
will be in operation within a fortnight.” 

“ And in the meantime,” put in Edna, returning to 
the previous point, “ the nights will probably continue 
cold. Could not the same results be reached without so 
much hardship? It seems dreadful to be homeless at 
this time of the year.” 

“ It is necessary,” was his firm reply. 

They had reached the Agency and paused at the steps. 
Mollie came up and was told by her mistress that she 
would excuse her from further attendance. 

“ Is Ellen very beautiful ? ” asked Edna, when she 
and Philip were alone again. 

“ Very,” he answered, without hesitation. “ Hature 
has done everything for her. Had she education she 
would be among the greatest. It is a marvel that with 
such attributes she chooses the life of the mills.” 

“ Probably no other has been offered her,” Edna sug- 


1 9 1 


RIVERFALL 


gested. “ Now, Mr. Mayfield — describe his appearance 
as well as you can ? ” 

“ Hugh ? He is of my height, with light hair and 
blue eyes. A fine, sturdy, intelligent, honest fellow.” 

She dropped her voice at the next question. 

“ They will marry sometime, of course ? ” 

“ Hugh and Ellen ? I think not. They are deeply 
interested in theories which they hold in common, but 
that is all. No, I am quite sure.” 

Surprised that Philip spoke so calmly on the subject, 
and more in doubt than ever as to his real feelings to- 
ward Ellen, Edna left him and went into the house. He 
promised to follow soon, but before he had done so 
Ralph Melbourg came with quick step from the direc- 
tion of the town and paused in front of him with dis- 
torted features. 

“ Why, what’s the matter?” inquired Westland, 
anxiously. 

“ Matter ? Matter enough. You are going too far, 
Phil ! Do you know what is occurring yonder ? Men 
wrapped in bedclothes shivering on the sidewalks, and 
women only saved from the same fate by soldiers who 
let them use their tents ! Do you know what you’ve got 
to do — have the rest of your notices torn down and issue 
orders to let the people back into the houses ! Confound 
it ! We’ve almost had a frost ! ” 

While Westland did not relish his young friend’s 
remarks he could not repress a smile at his impetuosity. 

“ Must I, indeed ! ” he retorted, drawing himself up. 
“ I shall do nothing of the kind. The people can go back 
to their tenements and their work if they sign the new 
schedule, and on no other terms.” 


RIVERFALL 


192 


Ralph’s anger grew more furious. 

“ Do you tell me you won’t have the notices pulled 
down?” he demanded, threateningly. “ You will per- 
sist in throwing the rest of the people into the streets ? ” 

“ Undoubtedly. It seems to me some one has been 
changing his mind ! Hot so long ago he was lamenting 
the loss of his income these silly people had caused; now 
they have his sympathy in their idiotic performance. 
Why this remarkable reversal of attitude ? ” 

The young man’s indignation was so great that he 
could hardly speak with distinctness. 

“ Hang my income ! ” he cried. “ I have seen too 
much to-night ever to want an income from these mills 
again. I have seen families separated ; wives, sisters and 
mothers thankful to accept a canvas roof offered by 
charity ; husbands and fathers left like dogs outside the 
doors your men locked on them! I have seen their 
miserable belongings, hardly fit for tramps, only kept 
from destruction by a good-natured truckman who 
carted them to sheds ! I have seen children crying for 
want of a drop of milk. One of the poor little chaps 
was so ill he couldn’t hold up his head, and Ellen took 
him to the tent she occupies. The night air is dangerous 
in his weak condition and it is doubtful if he lives till 
daylight. By ” 

But Westland was shaking him sharply by the 
shoulder. 

“ Where is that child- — in which tent ? ” he asked, 
white as a sheet. “ It shall be brought to my house — at 
once — and a nurse and doctor called to attend it. Why 
did no one tell me? You might have let me know in- 
stead of idling over yonder.” 


RIVERFALL 


193 


Ralph gave an impatient snarl. 

“ What good would it do to let you know — you who 
have said within a minute that you will turn the rest 
of them out as fast as you can ! ” 

“ But not the babies ! I didn’t realize that there were 
any babies/’ stammered Westland. “ Show me which 
tent he’s in.” 

“ We couldn’t pass. The sentries are everywhere.” 

“ I can at least get a doctor. They will not refuse 
him, when they know his errand. Come, Ralph 1 ” 

But the young man was firm. 

“ I will not ! ” he shouted. I’ll have nothing more 
to do with you while you represent a miserable corpora- 
tion that is turning its old servants into the street. I’m 
going in now to pack my things, and in the morning I’ll 
have them taken out of your house.” 

Westland turned on his heel. He did not care to 
prolong the argument. He feared that his patience 
might collapse if the strain continued. Without delay 
he sought the chief physician of the town, Dr. McHally, 
and awoke that gentleman from a sound sleep. 

The doctor was surprised when he heard his caller’s 
errand, but as his customer was undoubtedly able to 
settle all bills, he prepared without delay to accompany 
him. Together they proceeded to the common, where 
a sentry, after some parley, admitted them to the lines, 
and pointed out the tent in which Ellen was to be found. 

When the visitors were announced, Mrs. Mulligan, 
the child’s mother, was wringing her hands and mourn- 
ing audibly. Some medicine had already been procured, 
which Dr. McHally approved of, nodding his head with 


13 


194 


RIVERFALL 


satisfaction. The most important thing now, he said, 
was to remove the little one to a warmer shelter and he 
thought his own residence best adapted to that purpose. 

“ Shure, an 7 the b’y’s kilt already, widout movin’ 
him ! ” cried Mrs. Mulligan. “ May God forgive the 
crool man that turrened us out av doors on this freezin’ 
night ! Poor little Patsy ! It’s an angel ye’ll be befure 
the sun rises, an’ all the docthers in Ameriky can’t save 
ye! ” 

Westland winced at the allusion to himself, and was 
painfully aware that the speaker’s sentiments were those 
of nearly everybody present. Ellen came to the doctor’s 
aid and finally, by promising to accompany her, and to 
send a messenger to inform her husband where she had 
gone, persuaded Mrs. Mulligan to go to the doctor’s 
house. Nathalie wrapped the baby in a blanket and 
carried it along. After the party had passed the mili- 
tary line Mr. Westland and Ellen fell a little behind 
the others. 

“ You were very kind to bring the doctor,” she said 
feelingly. 

“ Hot at all,” he replied. “ I wish I had known of the 
case earlier. I went as soon as I heard.” He looked at 
his companion narrowly. “ Let me say another thing, 
Ellen, while we are alone. I am inexpressibly rejoiced 
that, nothwithstanding all that has passed, you still treat 
me as a friend.” 

She looked up at him brightly. Through the dim 
light he could distinguish her features, none the less 
lovely for a nearly sleepless night. 

“ Why should we not be friends,” she asked, in her 


ai 95 


RIVERFALL 


most musical tone, “ when each is doing what he be- 
lieves right ? ” 

“ And yet one must be wrong,” he returned sadly. 

“ True,” she replied; “ one must be wrong; but if, 
using the best conscience he has, he falls into error, 
God will surely forgive him. There must come a time, 
though, when he would give much to undo the evil he 
has mistakenly caused.” 

He seemed lost in thought for some moments, and 
then spoke again: 

“ Something has been long on my mind, Ellen, and I 
want you to hear it now. Forgive me for bringing up 
the subject at such an inauspicious moment. I do not 
ask — do not wish — an immediate reply. These troub- 
lous times are sure to draw us further apart. I cannot 
tell how long it may be before we meet again alone, and 
I want you to know ” 

She laid a heavy hand upon his arm and turned to- 
ward him such a startled, pleading face that he stopped 
short in the path. 

“ I beg you — do not say it ! ” she gasped. 

“ But — you understand? ” 

She took several steps before she realized that he was 
not following. Then she turned half toward him, but 
did not raise her eyes. 

“ Yes; I understand,” she answered, faintly, and they 
went into the doctor’s house together. 


ig6 


RIVERFALL 


XVI 

The sun rose and tried in vain to dispel the mist that 
hung over Riverf all. The air still continued very chilly, 
the sort of chilliness that penetrates to the marrow, and 
is harder to bear than even a cooler temperature with 
dry air. Some hundreds of people whose bed covering 
had been the black sky of night, and their breakfast 
more meagre than usual were distinctly miserable. 
Several hundred who were preparing to obey the notices 
of eviction tacked to their doors were glancing anxiously 
at the clouds and predicting rain before the day was 
over. And some thousands of others still, whose turn to 
join these was not far away, wore gloomy faces in keep- 
ing with the threatening aspect of the heavens. 

Some of Colonel Caswell’s men, carrying on the farce 
of “ protecting ” the property of the Corporation, as 
well as “ guarding ” the residences of town officials, 
made a show of patrolling the village, while those who 
had been on duty earlier slept the sleep of tired men 
in their tents. Others strolled about, discussing the 
situation. Though they were in truth “ holiday sol- 
diers,” and not too much in love with the task assigned 
them, their commander could find no fault with their 
obedience of orders. That extraordinary thing called 
discipline, under which a thousand men execute the will 
of one like automatons, was easily enforced. As the 
colonel said afterwards in his report, “ My men reflected 


197 


RIVERFALL 


credit on themselves, on their regiment and on the 
Commonwealth.” 

The colonel slept at the Riverfall House, and slept 
well. Entirely refreshed he rose early and took a stroll 
through the village. His engaging manners, as well as 
his kindness to the women and children, made him popu- 
lar in spite of the disagreeable nature of his business, 
which the operatives interpreted as opposed to their side 
in the issue that was being fought out. Many affable 
“ Good-mornings ” were showered upon him by poor 
fellows whose bed had been the soft side of a brick, 
along with questions much more plentiful than he could 
answer. He was compelled to say over and over that 
he could do nothing but act in conjunction with the 
town authorities, and that he could express no opinions. 
The trouble was to make his hearers understand how 
a colonel in gorgeous uniform, with a sword hanging at 
his side, could take directions from a little dried-up 
civilian like Chairman Hunt, whom everybody seemed 
to despise. 

Hugh Mayfield slept but a short time, lying on the 
sidewalk with a bed-quilt over him and a piece of plank 
for a pillow, but he arose soon after daybreak, fresh as 
a lark. On an occasion like the present his superb 
physique and good habits stood him in excellent stead. 
Summoning his most trusted assistants he saw that pro- 
visions were distributed to the hungry crowds, &nd then 
went hither and thither, giving assistance and advice 
wherever needed. He had a great deal to do. He was 
trusted by all, and none ventured to question his decis- 
ions. While thus engaged he heard, to his surprise, 
that Ralph Melbourg was waiting to speak to him. 


i<p8 


RIVERFALL 


“ May I have a word with you ? ” asked Ealph, anxi- 
ously. 

“ If you will make it very brief. I am, as you see, ex- 
tremely busy.” 

“ You refused my money,” explained the young man, 
speaking in a quick, nervous way. “ I come to tender 
it again, and this time to offer myself with it. I have 
thrown up my cousin forever, and my entire sympathies 
are on your side. I have taken my belongings from the 
Agency and told Phil I will have no more to do with a 
man who does such cruel things.” 

“ Cruel ! ” interrupted a pleasant voice, just behind 
him. “ Are you not mistaken ? ” 

Ealph turned and saw Ellen, who had silently ap- 
proached. The three were quite alone. No others would 
have dreamed of interrupting when Ellen and Hugh 
were in consultation. The trio were as safe from 
listeners as if bolts and bars held back the world. 

“ Cruel ! ” repeated the pleasant voice, before Ealph 
could reply. “ Philip Westland cruel ! You would not 
say so if you had seen him in my tent last night with 
Dr. McNally, whom he summoned to attend Mrs. Mulli- 
gan’s sick baby.” 

“ It was I who told him about the child ! ” exclaimed 
Ealph, eagerly. “ I met him at the door. I had just 
come from down this way, and the things I saw put me 
in a rage. We had words over the matter and I an- 
nounced my intention to leave him. I have moved my 
things to the hotel, as I was telling Hugh.” 

Mayfield left it to Elleu to reply. When she was by 
he never assumed to direct a conversation unless by her 
expressed wish. 


i<99 


RIVERFALL 


“ There are two Philip Westlands,” said Ellen, look- 
ing Ealph full in the eyes. “ One of them is a generous, 
noble, whole-souled gentleman ; the other is acting-pre- 
sident of the Great Central Corporation. To which do 
you refer ? ” 

“ I know but one Philip Westland in Eiverfall,” 
answered Ealph, surprised. 

“ Oh, excuse me — there are surely two. One ordered 
the Mulligan family out of their tenement on a freezing 
day, when he had reason to believe they could find no 
shelter; the other sent a doctor to the Mulligan baby, 
engaged a nurse and personally brought medicines from 
the apothecary. You see, they are very different men.” 

He began to understand. 

“ How,” continued Ellen, u let me hear again what 
you wish to do.” 

Upon this Ealph reiterated, though at greater length, 
what he had told Mayfield. His sympathies were with 
the locked-out people, and he wanted to serve them. He 
was not rich, his income had been suspended on account 
of the troubles, but he had some money, and a relation, 
whom he did not wish to name, had offered to advance 
him more. His greatest wish was to thoroughly identify 
himself with those who were struggling against the 
greedy Corporation.” 

“ You are acting under excitement,” said Ellen, when 
he paused for breath. “ All who enter my ranks are 
required to use calmness and discretion, obeying their 
chosen leaders without debate or delay. I fear you 
could not bring yourself to serve in that manner.” 

“ I can,” was the emphatic reply. “ I will make any 


^00 ^55555;^^ RIVE UFA LL 


promise you ask. Put me where I can aid you. The 
first thing, it seems to me, is to go to New York for a 
carload of things. I can get the money. Please try 
me ! ” 

Ellen motioned to Hugh and they retired several 
steps away for a whispered conversation. When they 
returned she said — 

a We have found it necessary to admit persons to our 
counsels only after a most thorough test. Though we 
have no reason to doubt your honesty in this proposal, 
we cannot break our rules. You may go to New York 
and send us anything you desire. When you return, if 
you wish to talk further, I shall be at your service. 
The main thing I must urge upon you is discretion. 
Our cause is more likely, at the present moment, to 
suffer from thoughtless friends than from its most in- 
veterate enemies.” 

Ealph accepted the terms joyfully, declaring that he 
would prove his fealty in such a way that she could not 
long doubt him. He hastened to send a note telling 
Edna what had happened, and the messenger who carried 
it returned with a cheque quite large enough for what 
he had in view. Hastening to the city he ordered some 
large tents, a miscellaneous lot of flour, canned meats, 
groceries and blankets. But in his excitement he for- 
got all about the time-tables and missed the train he 
meant to take for Eiverfall by only five minutes. 

There was nothing for it but to stay over night, and 
as his goods could not possibly arrive before the next 
afternoon it made little difference. Going to his old 
rooms Ealph pondered on the best way to dispose of his 


RIVERFALL 


201 


spare time, and finally concluded, though it was rather 
late, to dress and go to one of the theatres. 

In the foyer, as it was between the acts, many people 
were promenading, and to Ralph’s disgust a familiar 
face and form revealed itself, in the prison of Mr. Ezra 
Baker, Treasurer of the Great Central mills. 

“ How d’ye do,” he said, affably. “ J ust come, eh ? 
Of course you’ve not been able to get a seat at this hour. 
I’ve got plenty of room in my box and you’re welcome.” 

The call bell rang, and before he was aware of it 
Ralph had been pushed into Mr. Baker’s box. His in- 
decision was to blame. He would have gladly escaped 
recognizing Baker at all, could he have done so with- 
out a scene ; and his comfort was not increased when he 
saw that a young woman was also seated there, whom 
he recognized as a former mill-girl of Riverfall, whose 
reputation had been questioned. 

“ Miss Thursten — Mr. Melbourg,” said Baker, in an 
off-hand way. 

The boldness of the thing nearly deprived Ralph of 
his breath. Baker leaned over and whispered, “ You 
understand, this isn’t to be talked about down yonder. 
A fellow has to take a little fling once in a while, when 
his business keeps him half the year in such a hole as 
Riverfall. I left over a week ago. So your cousin is 
actually firing the people out ? I never thought he had 
the nerve. Well, a few nights in this weather will do 
more to teach them sense than a month of talk. If 
they make any fuss the militia will be handy. I hope 
they’ve loaded their rifles with ball cartridges.” 

Ralph’s perplexity increased. He did not like to start 


s RIVERFALL 


202 


an argument. He did not want anything, in fact, but to 
get out of the place as soon as he could; and he waited 
anxiously for the curtain to fall, that he might make an 
exit without explanations. His glance wandered to Miss 
Thursten, and Mr. Baker was quick to notice. 

“ Hot bad, eh ? ” he whisperejd, with a leer. 

The younger man could no longer conceal his feelings ; 
to see this fellow, past middle age, occupying a high and 
trustworthy position, exhibiting with actual glee the 
shameless side of his nature, was more than could be 
patiently endured. Kising hastily, Ralph left the box 
without saying good-by to either of the occupants. He 
was making his way with quick strides to the street door 
when Mr. Baker caught up with him. 

“ Wait a minute,” he said. Cl What’s the matter ? ” 

“ I’m going to my rooms,” said Ralph, flushing. “ I 
don’t care to stay any longer.” 

“ You’re mad because I introduced you to Hazel, 
eh ? I don’t see how I could help it. You didn’t have a 
seat and I thought it a kindness to give you one. Come 
back and see the play out.” 

“ Ho, thank you ! ” 

“ I’d like to know what you’re mad at,” persisted 
Baker, uneasily. “ If it’s on account of that girl, there’s 
nothing wrong. She’s learned typewriting and helps me 
in my city office. I took her to see the play just out of 
kindness. She’s poor and can’t afford such luxuries.” 

Ralph looked at him so contemptuously that Baker 
added, “ I know — I know they used to talk about her — 
but it wasn’t true. Anyway, she’s reformed. It’s our 
duty to help the fallen.” 


203 


RIVERFALL 


He had gone so far out of the truth that he couldn’t 
help smiling. Indeed, he thought it such a good joke 
that he wanted Ralph to join in the merriment. 

“ You’re something of a sly dog yourself,” he pro- 
ceeded, essaying to poke his companion in the ribs. 
a Maybe I don’t know of the little French girl you’ve 
got in River fall. You young scamp ! ” 

It was a question for half a second whether or not 
Ralph would slap the man’s face, but he controlled him- 
self. In another instant he was on the street, where the 
cool air blew gratefully upon his hot cheeks. He under- 
stood now why a verdict of uncontrollable homicide is 
sometimes a righteous one. 

“ To allude to my Nathalie like that! ” he repeated, 
under his breath. “ My Nathalie ! ” 

But was she “ his ” Nathalie? He had never had 
speech with her since the unhappy parting of which 
treasurer Baker had been the spying witness. Not a 
letter had passed between them and he had seen her only 
once, at a distance. When she knew that he had come 
out fully on the side of her new friends, however — when 
he appeared as the dispenser of his newly-purchased 
bounties — she would forgive and restore him to his old 
place; he felt sure of it. Love for Nathalie had been 
a much stronger factor in his change of base than even 
the sense of outrage at Philip’s conduct. He could 
hardly wait until the morrow to present himself to her in 
his new light. 

As soon as he reached Riverfall the next day Ralph 
dispatched a note to Edna, asking her to meet him, with 
Mollie for her companion, at a place he designated, as 


204 


RIVERFALL 


soon as it was dusk. His purchases did not arrive, owing 
to delays in transit, but he took pains to show Ellen the 
bills from the dealers, that she might know he was 
telling the truth. To his joy Nathalie came into her 
tent just as she was hearing his story and Ellen re- 
peated the tidings. 

“ Here is a good friend, dear, who has come to our 
aid — a friend whom we had no reason to expect would 
help us, as he is a relation of the family that owns the 
largest share in the mills. You must talk with him 
about what he has purchased and make arrangements 
for distributing it when it arrives. Excuse me now, 
sir, I have so much to do.” 

Balpli was very glad to excuse her, since it left him 
quite alone with the idol of his heart. 

“ Nathalie ! ” he murmured, ecstatically. 

She stole a sidelong glance at him, and then, as he 
showed signs of intending to embrace her, made a quick 
sigh of warning. 

“ Ellen may return at any moment ! ” 

“ And you have nothing to say to me ? ” 

“ Yes. If you’ve bought goods we need I say ‘ Thank 
you ! ’ with all my soul. Things are getting pretty bad. 
I don’t see how Ellen expects to feed her people three 
days longer. I asked her and she only said something 
about ‘ young ravens/ whatever that means. But I’ve 
no right to talk so. We’ve promised to leave it to her 
and she’s so much wiser than we ! ” 

His disappointment showed in every lineament of his 
drawn face. 

“ Nathalie ! ” he whispered, holding open his arms. 


205 


RIVERFALL 


She yielded to the sudden temptation and allowed him 
to clasp her closely. It was a delicious moment, much 
too soon over. She sprang lightly away again. 

“ Ellen might come,” she explained in a low tone. 

“ What if she did ? I would tell her we’re engaged 
to be married.” 

“ Oh, would you ? ” 

“ Why, aren’t we ? You said, after the troubles here 
were settled ” 

“ In favor of the working people ” 

He looked still more distressed. 

“ I can’t do everything,” he protested. “ I’ve left 
Phil for good — and given nearly my last cent to help 
Ellen. And now, after that, you talk as if ” 

He could not continue and she made it unnecessary by 
coming to him again and giving him a hug. 

“ What a goose ! ” she exclaimed. 

“ But you don’t know how I love you, Nathalie ! ” 

“ Don’t I? You’ll have to show me, then. Not by 
kisses,” she added, to forestall his evident purpose ; “ but 
by helping on the lot of work I’ve got laid out. Maggie 
Flaherty’s brother Mike promised to come, but I can’t 
wait for him. Are you willing to work hard, all day 
long? ” 

“ With you ? All my life! ” But, you’re not going 
to wait for our marriage till the Corporation gets a new 
soul in its body, I hope ! I can’t do impossibilities. If 
I’m true to these people, and to you, what more can you 
ask?” 

She had not the least intention of refusing him, but 
the feminine instinct of flirtation was strong in her 
pretty head. 


R/VERFALL 


206 


“ What shall I say to Mike ? ” she asked, pouting. 
“ He wants his answer.” 

“ I’ll give it to him if he comes around here ! ” he 
retorted, savagely. “ Leave him out of the discussion, 
please. You don’t want two husbands, do you? ” 

“ I don’t know as I want even one.” 

“ You’ve got to have one, just the same,” he said. 
“ By the way, my cousin Edna made me promise to 
bring you to see her. She has given a lot of money to 
help Ellen — though she wouldn’t let Phil know it for the 
world — and her feelings are all on our side now.” 

“ If that is true she can do a great deal,” said Natha- 
lie, her eyes flashing. “ She can have some one write 
and tell her father what she thinks. It might move his 
hard heart.” 

“ Poor Uncle John! I fear his death is too near to 
expect him to attend to business,” was the sad response. 


20 7 


RIVERFALL 


XVII 

“ How is your patient this morning? ” 

It was Philip W estland’s question to Ellen, as he met 
her at Dr. McNally’s gate. Even in the multiplicity of 
her cares she found time to ascertain the condition of 
the sick child. 

“ Patsy is alive, and we hope for the best,” she an- 
swered, “ though his recovery is still a matter of un- 
certainty. His exposure was a little too much for his 
delicate constitution, I fear. Last night more than a 
thousand people in this village were exposed to the 
same danger; but that you know already,” she added 
in a lower tone. 

Mr. Westland, tired, worn, mentally distressed, looked 
as squarely at the woman as she looked at him. There 
was as yet no giving way on either side. 

“ Pemember one thing ; not a soul has slept out of 
doors except by deliberate choice,” he said, pointedly. 
“ Is it reasonable that a corporation should furnish 
houses for those who would destroy it? Ellen, we 
should be too honest to evade that issue.” 

They had begun to walk away from the doctor’s, to- 
ward the town. 

“ Isn’t turning them into the street in this kind of 
weather rough usage, though ? ” she asked. “ Even in 
war there are certain cruelties that the customs of na- 
tions prevent. Old men who have labored for your 


208 


RIVE UFA LL 


company more than half their lives had last night only 
the sky for covering. A kind friend — your cousin 
Ralph — brought us a few tents which will keep some 
of them from freezing. It was most kind of him, but, I 
believe, no more than you would do, were you not a 
director in the Corporation.” 

He would not allow her to suppose for an instant that 
he endorsed this statement. 

“ I would not ! ” he replied, quickly. “ I should con- 
sider it mistaken charity. The sooner the people are 
reduced to extremity the sooner they will betake them- 
selves to some place where they can earn a living. If 
Ralph’s object was to benefit them he has taken a wrong 
method.” 

At a turn in the road they met Hugh Mayfield, walk- 
ing rapidly. He paused, bowed in his usual manner to 
Westland and lifted his hat to Ellen. She saw that he 
brought tidings and judged from his face that they were 
not pleasant ones. 

“ What is it, Hugh ? ” she inquired, imperturbably. 
“ We need have no secrets from our friend.” 

“ Merely this,” said Hugh. “ We have been refused 
leave by the town officials to erect our tents on the com- 
mon. They say it is an unwarranted use of the public 
domain.” 

Ellen hesitated for a moment before speaking. She 
wanted to keep as calm as she could before Mr. West- 
land. 

“ They allowed cows to be pastured on it last sum- 
mer,” she said at last. “ Of course we cannot claim 
equal importance. You must try to find some other 
place. We can have no conflict with the law.” 


RIVERFALL 


W estland tried once more to reason with them. 

“ I earnestly wish the people would go to work again/’ 
said he, earnestly. “ I will do anything in reason 
except alter the schedule, to bring that about, though 
my directors have declared for a fight to the finish. I 
say this, Ellen, from the sincere regard which I have for 
you and Hugh. Your courage is admirable, but your 
case is hopeless. You ought to see that it is only a ques- 
tion of days before cold and hunger will overcome your 
resistance. Do not let obstinacy carry you too far. How 
can we do anything when your attitude is one of open 
defiance ? ” 

Before she could answer, the constable who had 
charge of the evictions came along the street, evidently 
in search of Mr. Westland. 

“ May I have a private word ? ” he asked. 

But following Ellen’s example, Philip responded, 
“ That is not necessary, Mr. Carlson. If you come on 
business, speak where you are.” 

“ In the list of those ordered out to-day,” explained 
the constable, “ is a man named Converse, who refuses 
to move. He has fortified himself and dares us to cross 
his threshold.” 

Mr. Westland’s voice was hard and cold. 

“ Did you come to make any inquiry ? ” 

“ Why, yes, sir. I want to know what to do ? ” 

Mr. Westland drew himself up and folded his arms. 

“ I am surprised,” he answered, “ that a man who can 
call all the power of the Commonwealth to aid him if 
he needs it should ask such a thing.” 

The constable looked nonplussed. 



14 


210 


RIVERFALL 


“ Do I understand that he is to be moved at any 
cost ? ” he inquired. 

“ I positively decline to instruct you.” 

After reflecting a moment Mr. Carlson walked away 
in a brown study. When he was out of hearing West- 
land turned to his companions. 

“ The statute is as plain as the nose on that man’s 
face,” he said. “ In a government of laws we must take 
things as they are.” 

“ Converse is a man who means well,” said Ellen, 
“ but he became too uncontrollable and was expelled 
from my ranks. I hope no one will get injured through 
his mistaken stand. You are witness that none of my 
people (she laid great stress on the word “ my ”) have 
offered the least resistance.” 

As they parted at the corner of the road that led 
toward the Agency, Westland felt more than ever the 
hopelessness of debating with either of these deter- 
mined people. They would not retreat an inch, and 
he could not. His uncle and all the directors were of 
one mind. So far as he could see, he was the only 
individual connected with the management of the Cor- 
poration who considered in the least the humanitarian 
side of the matter. The suffering caused was, all felt, 
the fault of those who endured it. When they came to 
their senses things would go on as before; unless, in- 
deed, they waited so long that the offer which had been 
received to purchase the plant and devote it to other 
uses was accepted. 

Arriving at his office he found Coloned Caswell 
there, merely to make a friendly call. Heither re- 


RIVERFALL s 


211 


ferred during the half hour he remained to the local 
disturbances. Talk in relation to affairs of the out- 
side world and general politics filled up the time. Each 
understood the reasons why the conversation had best 
be kept within these limits. 

Meanwhile Treasurer Baker had come to town on the 
morning train, and sent word that he would lunch with 
Mr. Westland. It had been a frequent habit of his 
when John Westland was there, and he considered it 
one of the prerogatives of his office. Philip went to 
tell Edna of the expected visit, and to suggest that she 
had best not be one of the party at table, as the talk 
would necessarily be confined to business matters. She 
agreed, and then showed a letter she had just received 
from her father’s nurse. 

“ I trust it wasn’t wrong,” she said, “ but I got Mollie 
to write to papa that I sympathized strongly with the 
poor people of Riverfall in their distresses, and hoped 
he could think of some way to end the present con- 
ditions. It was just a woman’s plea for the suffering, 
Philip, and not an attempt to argue the questions at 
issue. But Nathan writes that papa is unable to bear 
excitement, and that by his doctor’s orders he has re- 
frained from giving him my note. Are you angry with 
me, dear? ” 

He put his arm around the trembling figure and 
pressed a kiss on the white forehead. 

“ Angry ! Certainly not,” he said. 

Angry at this poor child, so nearly an orphan! 
Angry because she had permitted the best impulses of 
her pure heart to control her conduct! How sincerely 


212 


RTVERFALL 


he wished he could find some way to achieve the result 
she sought! 

Westland had never liked Mr. Baker, but their re- 
lations had been affable enough till now. At table, 
however, the treasurer used expressions that grated 
beyond endurance on the overwrought nerves of his 
host, who replied in monosyllables to his remarks. One 
of the first things Baker did was to relate meeting 
Ralph at the theater, telling the story in his own way, 
and evidently supposing that the young man had al- 
ready given his version of it. Baker talked of “ things 
that men understood were not to be spread abroad,” 
and asked Mr. Westland to “ put a flea in the ear ” of 
his cousin to that effect. Next he alluded to the ex- 
employes of the Corporation as if they were the off- 
scouring of the earth, for whom the roughest treatment 
was the only proper one. But the culminating point 
came when he turned his attention to Ellen, declaring 
that a thousand dollars put into her hands would end 
the difficulty in fifteen minutes. 

“ I wouldn’t suggest it except as a last resort,” he 
explained. “ We can’t afford to lose too much just 
for the name of the thing. They tell me you have met 
this woman and talked with her. It would be easy to 
fix the thing up, if she hangs out too long.” 

“ You do not know her,” responded Westland icily. 
“ A thousand dollars, or a million, would have no ef- 
fect except to make her despise the person who offered 
it.’ 

“Bah! Who is she, anyway?” replied Baker. 
“ Her mother was only a ” 


213 


RIVERFALL 


“Stop!” cried Westland, rising to his feet. “I 
have listened to you, sir, as long as I possibly can. Will 
you do me the kindness to leave the house? ” 

His excessive paleness formed a sharp contrast with 
the very red visage of the treasurer as the two men 
confronted each other. 

“Leave the house?” repeated Baker. “I will do 
that at my own convenience. I believe it is owned 
by the Corporation, of which I am a director, and that 
the table is supplied by the company. If it comes to 
that, the books will show more shares in my name than 
in yours.” 

Westland walked to the door of the dining-room and 
through the hall to the street entrance. Leaving each 
of the portals wide open, he returned. 

“ This house is at present under my control,” he said 
to Baker, between his teeth. “ You can either go out 
or be kicked out! ” 

The treasurer chose the former alternative, but as 
he descended the steps of the mansion his threats of 
vengeance could be heard for some distance. 

When Westland had time to reflect, he was dis- 
gusted with himself. He could not recall another time 
in his entire life when he had lost his head so com- 
pletely. He trembled to think what he might have 
done had the man resisted. 

Edna could not help overhearing the loud voices, 
and realized that something unpleasant had occurred. 
When Baker was gone she sought Philip, and asked 
him what it was. 

“ A dog,” he said, sharply, “ tried to bite one of 


214 


RIVERFALL 


my acquaintances, and I turned him out. Don’t ques- 
tion me further. It nauseates me to talk of it.” 

“ I’m glad I did not lunch with you,” she said, after 
a moment’s pause. “ What do you hear of Ralph? ” 

“ That he has joined our opponents, and is spend- 
ing what little money he has in helping them fight the 
company.” 

“ Ralph is a boy of the best intentions,” she said. 

“ Yes,” he responded grimly; “ but do not forget 
that a very warm place is paved with that material.” 

That night nearly five thousand persons were roof- 
less in Riverfall. The militia officers still loaned 
Ellen what tents they could spare, though “ promi- 
nent citizens,” all over the State, wrote to Colonel 
Caswell remonstrating against his action. (These 
eminent gentlemen, it happened curiously enough, 
were all owners in stocks of cotton corporations.) In 
acknowledging the receipt of their communications, 
the colonel mentioned that he did not admit the right 
of any person to dictate his course, except his legal 
superiors, who had sent him no directions in regard to 
the matter. 

The tents that Ralph purchased were finally erected 
in a private lot in a low district, a very unhealthy place 
by all accounts, but better than none. Still, when the 
darkness fell a vast number of persons were out of 
doors, including many women and children. And, to 
add to the discomfort, the rain which had been threat- 
ening for several days at last set in, beginning with a 
slow drizzle. 


RIVERFALL 


215 


Ellen made one more attempt to soften the hearts 
of the town officials and secure permission for at least 
the weakest and most helpless to use the public build- 
ings. Her answer was a reiteration of the old rea- 
sons for refusing. She also tried some of the churches 
again, hut without success. The rain began to increase 
in volume and she was seriously alarmed at the pros- 
pect that ice would form before morning. As she 
reached headquarters she found Nathalie awaiting 
her, with eager face. 

“ I’ve had a long talk with the French priest, Pere 
Laroche,” she said. “ His heart has always been with 
us, but he feared the bishop. The tendency of the 
Church, he told me, is to discourage contests between 
employers and employed. ‘ I wish I could do some- 
thing, my child; this rain is very distressing/ said he. 
‘ There is one thing you can do, F ather/ I suggested. 
‘ You can announce an extra vesper service and we can 
attend. Then if the rain continues, surely you need 
not force the people out of doors.’ The good Father 
was delighted at the idea. ‘ I’ll do that ! ’ he cried. 
‘ Tell all to come that can get inside.’ ‘ They’ll have 
to bring their bedding,’ I said, ‘ to keep it from being 
ruined.’ He hesitated, but finally consented that they 
might put it in the vestry. So all we need now is to 
bid every one to prayers! ” 

Ellen kissed the girl on the forehead, which amply 
repaid her for her shrewd and successful move; and 
after a brief consultation with Hugh, the necessary 
proclamation was issued. 

Then followed a scene probably unprecedented in 


KIVEKFALL 


216 


American history. The people, by hundreds, laden 
with their goods, betook themselves to the sacred edi- 
fice, so unexpectedly opened to receive them. When 
every seat in the grand auditorium was occupied many 
crowded the aisles, and not a few threw themselves on 
the mattresses below stairs and remained there. 

When Pere Laroche ascended the altar he saw a spec- 
tacle that gratified his pious soul, while at the same 
time it filled him with profound pity. The service was 
given with all possible impressiveness. At the close the 
priest went into the pulpit and alluded to the peculiari- 
ties of the occasion in remarks which, if circumspect 
and guarded, left no doubt of the depth of his feelings. 
A large part of the audience were unable to under- 
stand the language in which he spoke, and some were 
Protestants who inwardly questioned whether they 
ought to enter a “ Popish ” church, even to secure 
shelter from a storm. But the comfortable atmos- 
phere of the edifice soon eased their fears, and the be- 
nignant countenance of the good pere quieted their sus- 
picions. 

Most uneasy in his mind, Philip Westland watched 
the rainfall from his windows until he could bear it 
no longer. Then he donned a rain-coat and glazed 
hat and walked toward the village. He carried a pass 
which Colonel Caswell had thoughtfully given him, 
containing permission to penetrate the lines at his pleas- 
ure. His walk was aimless and taken merely to ward off 
nervousness. The deserted appearance of the streets 
where the people had camped soon attracted his notice, 
and he suspected that the town buildings had at last 


RIVE RFA LL 


been opened for their use. A stroll in that direction, 
however, showed no lights in the windows, and the sen- 
tries still paced monotonously to and fro. He was too 
proud to ask what had become of the people, but a 
soldier who recognized him volunteered the informa- 
tion. 

Mr. Westland was not a communicant of the French 
church — nor of any others — but ten minutes later he 
softly ascended the granite steps of lEglise de Sainte 
Marie. With noiseless tread, and with face muffled 
in the collar of his coat, he made his way to the in- 
terior and gazed upon the remarkable scene. The 
priest was speaking, and the listener understood French 
perfectly. As he regarded the throng his sentiments 
of pity almost overcame him. Could those people have 
read what was passing in his brain they might have felt 
pity for him also. He was becoming sore distressed, 
and was as nearly ill as it was possible for a man to be 
.and keep his feet. 

In a few minutes he left the church, and, for want 
of something else to do, went home. Sitting there he 
resolved to send an urgent telegram to his uncle at 
Tampa, begging John Westland to say that the lock- 
out might be declared off and the old wages restored. 

When the despatch was written and sent Philip felt 
easier. If Ellen could be told! But he must await 
the answer. How happy she would be if he could go 
to her and bring the great news ! 

He did not expect the reply before the following day, 
and he went to bed. Completely exhausted he slept 
for nearly nine hours. Awakened then by a messenger 



218 


RIVERFALL 


boy, he tore open the envelope feverishly and stared at 
these brief words : 

I have sent my reply to Mr. Baker. John Westland. 

To Mr. Baker! His uncle, almost a father to him, 
had sent an answer to a subordinate official of the com- 
pany, and dismissed him with these curt words! It 
was truly a crushing blow. While he was trying to 
decide what next to do a long envelope was brought, 
which contained these lines:. 

To Philip Westland, Acting President of the Great Central 
Corporation of Riverfall : 

The undersigned hereby gives notice of his intention to 
make, at a meeting of the directors to-morrow afternoon, the 
following charges against you : 

1. That you have wantonly insulted at the Agency a director 
of this company. 

2. That you have acted contrary to the interests of the Cor- 
poration in these respects, namely: By being unduly intimate 
with several of the leading instigators of the present difficulties ; 
assisting ex-employes by sending them a physician and sup- 
plying medicines; refusing aid to a constable when one of the 
tenants resisted possession of his room ; telling the commander 
of the militia that you knew no need for his services here, thus 
encouraging the lawbreakers. 

3. That at least one person, if not more, whose funds are 
under your control, has been contributing in cash to the aid of 
your ex-employes. 

4. That you have in general shown an entire inability to 
cope with the situation and ought to be removed forthwith. 

Ezra Baker. 

Mr. Westland read the document through twice, 
thinking Mr, Baker had been very busy to collect so 


RIVERFALL 


2ig 


much information in the short time since he returned. 
He declined the breakfast served for him, donned his 
outer garments and wandered forth. 

Why had he ever undertaken the thankless task of 
managing the mills in this emergency? He possessed 
enough to live in comfort among pleasanter scenes far 
away. He had, to be sure, clients and wards who were 
interested, but others had them as well as he. Why 
had he assumed this terrible burden? 

He strolled toward Dr. McNally’s, thinking he would 
inquire about the baby, but before he reached there he 
met Ellen. As she paused the eyes she raised to his 
were so blinded she could hardly see. 

A chill passed over his frame; a chill like that which 
comes from a newly-opened tomb ! 

“ Do not speak!” he cried hoarsely. “I know! 
The child is dead! ” 

She put a hand upon his shoulder, bearing a little of 
her weight upon him. 

“ Don’t — grieve — too much,” she responded, speak- 
ing with difficulty. u Perhaps — we cannot tell — I am 
not sure — he might have died — anyway. He has never 
been well.” 

“ No,” he responded, like one who talks in his sleep, 
“ you cannot lessen my guilt, Ellen. I am a mur- 
derer! ” 

She cried out at that and tried to detain him, but 
he staggered home in a daze. In his bedroom he gazed 
long at the face that confronted him in his mirror, thin, 
haggard, wrinkled, unshorn, weary-eyed; not the face 


220 ?SSSaSS~S~SSSSSS5~ KIVERFALL 


he used to know, the face of the healthy, prosperous, 
satisfied man of affairs. 

They came to him many times that day and begged 
him to take nourishment, but he refused. He had a 
battle to fight out with himself, and material food was 
not the sort he needed in that emergency. 


221 


RIVERFALL 


XVIII 

Xo resident of Riverfall will be likely to forget the 
day which followed the events narrated in the preced- 
ing chapter. To Philip Westland especially it will 
always stand alone among the days of that remarkable 
week. 

It was cloudy and the rain had not entirely ceased. 
The people in the P rench church were rather sorry that 
the weather was clearing. There would soon be less 
excuse for good Father Laroche to turn the sacred edi- 
fice into an inn. 

Colonel Casw r ell and his commissioned officers had 
slept well at the Riverfall House. Their men, whether 
in the tents or on picket duty were, naturally, not as 
comfortable. They were getting tired of playing 
soldier in a town where nothing at all had occurred 
in the way of disturbance. Still no orders to evacu- 
ate were given, and the apparently useless garrison was 
kept up. 

One of the sergeants, a man named Michael O’Toole, 
had formerly worked in the mills and was now, in his 
civil capacity, a porter at the Parker House in Boston. 
He was very much in love with a pretty girl named 
Flynn, who with her family was among the locked-out 
people, and had taken pains to see that “ Mamie ” was 
provided with shelter in the military tents among the 
earliest ones. The number that could be accommo- 
dated, however, was filled before Mrs. Flynn’s name 


222 ~s~~ss~~~~~^I(IVERFALL 


was reached, and that excellent lady, enraged when she 
discovered this fact, immediately presented herself at 
the picket line and demanded entrance. As luck would 
have it, Sergeant O’Toole himself was called to settle 
the controversy which took place, and on his unhappy 
head the torrent of Mrs. Flynn’s anger was let loose. 

“ Good-mornin’ to ye, Mrs. Flynn,” he began. “ Is 
it Mamie ye do be wantin’ ? ” 

“ Arrah, go on!” she retorted, her arms akimbo. 
“ Is it the likes o’ ye I’d be spindin’ me time talkin’ 
wid? Foine doin’s whin they sind a trunk-walloper 
down from Boston, wid brass buttons on, to tell dacint 
people where they can go in their own village ! ” 

The sentry had lowered his rifle and barred the 
woman’s progress. O’Toole tried to explain that the 
colonel’s orders were strict, and that all the women and 
children who could cro^d into the tents were already 
provided for, but Mrs. Flynn would not listen. Every 
word he spoke was met with invective and insult. 

“ Ye murdherin’ vill’in,” she shouted, “ why don’t ye 
tell this spalpeen to shoot me, an’ be done wid it? 
Shure, it wud be an asier death than freezin’ on the 
curb. An’ it’s ye that was aroun’ makin’ love to me 
Mamie, was it? Faith, I’ll chop yer nose aff if iver ye 
put it inside me dure ag’in! ” 

At this juncture the daughter in question, attracted, 
as were many others, by the noise, came to see what 
caused the commotion, and the mother’s attention was 
turned to her. 

“ Come out o’ there! ” she shouted. “ Will ye let 
your ould mother slape on the bricks an’ ye under kiver? 


RIVERFALL s 


223 


I won’t have ye here wid this blaggard O’Toole* Ain’t 
ye ashamed, consortin’ wid thaves an’ cut-throats! ” 

Ellen came up at his juncture, and it was wonderful 
to see the sudden change in Mrs. Flynn’s manner under 
the calm eyes of her leader. 

“ You must go away immediately,” was the whis- 
pered direction. “ I am astonished you should do a 
thing like this.” 

It was always Ellen’s way — to make each one of her 
followers feel that she trusted him or her especially. 
With a last scowl at the sergeant, who reddened to the 
roots of his hair, the woman went from the place with- 
out another word. O’Toole was the subject of a little 
good-natured bantering from his messmates, but Mamie 
stood by him loyally, and all was soon tranquil. Cupid 
could not be suppressed even where powder and bayo- 
net reigned supreme. 

Where was Ralph all this time? He had slept with 
the others in the church, lying on the carpet within 
reach of Nathalie’s fingers, which he clasped furtively 
under a coverlet. He did not mind the hardness of his 
couch, with that dear little hand in his. The gas jets 
were partially lowered, and a “ dim, religious light ” 
enveloped the auditorium. Ralph’s eyes wandered 
over the altar, with its many candles, over the walls 
where pictures of saints were hung; and they rested 
long on a portrait of the Saviour, who seemed to look 
down on the 'concourse with divine compassion. When 
all about him were asleep he drew nearer to the girl he 
loved, and softly touched her forehead with his lips. 
No purer act was ever witnessed by the eyes of angels. 


224 


RIVE RFA LL 


Then he fell into a quiet slumber, still clinging to that 
little hand, as if it were an anchor to keep his barque 
secure on the stormy sea of life. 

Edna, at the Agency, was undergoing much mental 
distress. She realized that Philip was experiencing a 
strain so great that the consequences might prove seri- 
ous. Though the blind girl’s heart had gone over to 
the “ opposition ” as thoroughly as Ralph’s, she felt 
that Philip needed her at present. She was astonished 
at the change that had taken place in her sentiments. 
Until within the past few days she had never dreamed 
that there were two sides to a labor agitation. She 
had been taught by her father to regard the working 
classes as restless, unreasonable people, stirred up peri- 
odically by rascally fellows with personal ends to serve. 
In place of sight, the girl had developed increased 
acuteness in her other senses. Honesty sounded in 
every note of the voices of Ellen and Hugh, whose 
words sunk deep into her plastic mind. She felt that 
a great mistake was being made somewhere. If Ellen 
and Hugh were right, then Philip, her father and the 
other mill owners were woefully wrong. So troubled 
was she that she slept badly and awoke with a feeling 
of apprehension. 

Though Mr. Westland had not slept much better, 
he was out of doors very early. He had a half hope 
fthat the “ other side ” would come that morning with 
overtures of some kind, something to give an excuse, 
if ever so slight, to settle the unhappy controversy. 
He did not, however, meet any of the leaders. He met, 
instead, Mr. Ezra Baker, who said “ Good-morning,” 


225 


RIVE REA LL 


with a complacent smile that was evidently ironical. 
It was not Westland’s nature to be uncivil, except 
under extraordinary provocation, and he forced him- 
self to reply and pretend not to notice that an affront 
was intended. 

An inclination he could not resist led him to go 
among the tents occupied by civilians. Those Ralph 
had furnished looked more cheerless than the others, 
their location being on swampy ground, toward which 
the surface water naturally flowed, to stagnate. 
Women were astir, children were being washed and 
combed, and strange-looking edibles were simmering 
in kettles hung out of doors, over improvised fires. 
The stroller was met with astonished looks, but with 
no open insult. Somehow, notwithstanding all that 
had passed, the people, as a rule, had a kindly feeling 
for him. 

Suddenly he overheard a remark, “ The funeral will 
be to-morrow and, shaking with a chill quite out of 
proportion to the state of the atmosphere, which was, 
in fact, more moderate than on the day before, he 
turned his steps toward home. 

“ Perhaps he would have died anyway ! ” 

He recalled those words of Ellen’s, given hesitat- 
ingly, evidently with a struggle between her tendency 
toward absolute truth and disinclination to give him 
pain. He went in to breakfast and forced a few 
mouthfuls down his throat. Criminals who are doomed 
to die at ten o’clock are said sometimes by the enter- 
prising newsgatherers to “ eat heartily ” at nine. 
Westland’s strength had failed greatly, but he did his 


15 


RIVERFALL 


226 


best to keep it up, and when he left the table with 
Edna he did not forget his duty to the lonely girl. He 
took in his own the hand she held out doubtfully, and 
let her lead him into the drawing-room. As he essayed 
to place her on the sofa at his side she held back. 

“ Hot this morning, Philip. I want to sit at yot*r 
feet. I feel very humble to-day.” 

He found her a hassock, and she assumed the position 
indicated, laying her head on his knees. So long a 
time passed in which she did not speak that he grew anx- 
ious. 

“ What is it, dear? ” he asked. 

“ Because I am so quiet, do you mean? I did not 
wish to talk, but only to have you near me again. I 
want to feel your sympathy, Philip, and to give you 
mine. We need it — both of us — as we have never 
needed it before! ” 

He stroked her hair gently, as he was wont to do. 

“ I have neglected you in the rush of my duties,” he 
admitted. “ But why do you think I need sympathy? ” 

“ Because you are in a most trying situation. You 
are anxious to do right and are not certain that, after 
all, you will succeed. And there is another reason, 
Philip — I may speak quite frankly, may I not? — you 
have found a woman you love, and see between you a 
great gulf fixed.” 

Nothing could surprise him. At another time he 
might have marvelled how this child had fathomed the 
innermost depths of his heart, but he never thought of 
that. Everything had become a matter of course. 

“ Great gulfs have been bridged before now,” he re- 
plied musingly. “ As to my business troubles, they are 


RIVERFALL 


227 


liable to be lessened very soon. The directors are to 
hold a special meeting to-day.” 

She raised her head eagerly. 

“ To order the mills reopened? ” 

“ No. Mr. Baker has summoned them to hear 
charges against me.” 

“ Against you?” 

Absolute incredulity was in the expression. 

“ Yes, dear. He brings formal accusations of mis- 
management and of too great leniency to our old em- 
ployes.” 

She paused to grasp the situation. 

“ What shall you do? ” she asked. 

“ That will depend on circumstances. I am a little 
out of patience, but I shall try to meet with calmness 
whatever comes.” 

“ And — could they — is it in the power of the direc- 
tors, if they wish — to put some one else in your place? 
I know it would be a great relief, but no one could 
bring the trouble to an end as well as you.” 

He lifted her face with his hands and looked down 
into it longingly. 

“ Would to Heaven I could! ” he exclaimed. “ Can 
you tell me how? ” 

“ My advice would be of little value. Let your heart 
lead you; that will be your best guide,” she whispered. 

The directors met at the time appointed, and so great 
was the interest that, though they came from several 
towns and cities, every member of the board was pres- 
ent. When the routine business had been transacted, 
and Mr. Westland, by request, had made a verbal re- 


228 =, ?;SSSSSS5S HiVElibALL 

port of wliat lie had done, he felt that his fellow-direc- 
tors were in a discontented frame of mind* They had 
vindicated their power, hut their principal thought was 
the pecuniary loss which was to result from the present 
and prospective conditions. The pleasure of owning or 
managing a mill depends, in some degree, on the profits 
obtained. It was natural, therefore, that when Mr. 
Baker’s “ charges ” were read they fell on attentive 
ears. 

“ Does Mr. Westland desire to reply to these charges 
at the present time ? ” inquired Director Erastus Steb- 
bins, one of the largest holders of stock outside the 
Westland family; u or shall they be referred? If the 
latter course is adopted I shall move that the committee 
be nominated from the floor.” 

Westland rose with the utmost coolness, and 

glanced over the paper which he held in his hand. 

“ I have never,” he began, “ wantonly insulted any 
human being. I did order from my house the individual 
who makes these charges, because, while sitting as a 
guest at my table, he used expressions unfit for any de- 
cent presence. I have frequently met two of the lead- 
ing members of the employes’ union, and have used my 
best endeavors to convince them that their fight is 
homeless. I sent, it is true, a physician to attend an 
infant, which — (he hesitated, choking a little) — has 
since — died. I said to a constable who inquired if he 
should use force to eject a tenant who had received 
notice that he ought to understand his duty. I told the 
commander of the militia quartered here that I knew 
no reason for their presence, which statement the quiet- 
ness and order prevailing fully bears out. It is a fact 


22() 


HIVERFALL 


that a young man whose property I hold in trust, but 
over whose actions I have no control, has, contrary to 
my wish, assisted the idle workmen. 

“ So much for these allegations. As to the other, 
which says I ought to be removed, it is enough for me 
to know that a single one of my associates holds that 
opinion. I could not consent longer to serve with the 
author of this document in any event. I shall resign 
a position I never sought and which I have reluctantly 
retained.” 

A dead silence fell on the party. Then Mr. Stebbins 
asked, “ Do I understand that your resignation is be- 
fore the meeting? ” 

u No. I shall offer it, however, within a very few 
days.” 

Ezra Baker rose. 

“ I trust that the clerk will make a minute of the fact 
that Mr. Westland withdraws under charges,” he said. 

“ That will be as you please,” said Westland, in re- 
sponse to an interrogative look from the clerk; “it is 
a matter of entire indifference to me.” 

Then he left the room. 

Mr. Baker swelled with pride at the completeness of 
his victory, and rising, stated that he had a telegram 
which he thought the directors ought to hear, although 
the necessity for it had perhaps passed. He read the 
following : 

Tampa, October 28 th. 

Ezra Baker, Esq., Treamrer Great Central Corporation, BherfaU: 

No compromise must be thought of. Any person who fal- 
ters on that question should be removed from his office. 

John Westland. 


230 


RIVERFALL 


“ This is in response to a despatch which I sent our. 
friend yesterday,” explained Baker. “ It emphasizes 
the views we all know him to hold. It will now be my 
duty — or at least as soon as the acting president has 
resigned, to serve in his place, as provided in our by- 
laws. It will be a hard matter to bring order out of 
the chaos into which our affairs have been thrown, but 
if you stand by me it can be accomplished. I shall show 
no mercy to the people who have tried to wreck this 
magnificent property, and their hopes of winning a 
whole or partial victory will, I imagine, receive a 
death-blow when they find that their thinly disguised 
partisan is no longer in power.” 

Several votes which were considered necessary were 
then passed, and the directors adjourned, satisfied that 
they were at last on the right track. The telegram 
from Florida set at rest one or two who had a lingering 
fear that they had gone too far in forcing out the 
nephew of the founder of Riverfall. 

Edna was surprised as she noted the change in 
Philip, when they met that night at dinner. He told 
her of the action of the directors, remarking that it 
would be a few days now before she would have to 
change her quarters. He suggested that in the pres- 
ent state of Riverfall she might like to remove to Hew 
York, but she would not entertain the proposal. She 
said she wanted to “ see it out,” and as he expressed a 
similar desire, it was agreed that apartments for both 
should be sought at the Riverfall House. 

“ But I don’t understand why you are so light- 
hearted,” she said, with a puzzled expression. “ I 


RIVERFALL 


231 


know you’re glad to be relieved of responsibility, but 
the terrible situation still exists and must be met. It 
was a trifle milder last night, but still hardly comfort- 
able out of doors, I imagine. I don’t think any of us 
ought to be quite happy while the work of ejectment 
is going on.” 

He leaned over and whispered something in her ear 
which caused her to take a long breath. 

Within an hour after dinner he had sent for and 
received a visit from Mr. Carlson, the constable charged 
with serving the writs of ejectment. It was something 
of a surprise to that functionary to be summoned to the 
Agency, as Mr. Westland had not spoken to him since 
the day when he declined to construe his duty. Hot a 
word of what had happened at the directors’ meeting 
had yet reached the village. 

“ How many writs of ejectment have you remain- 
ing ? ” was the first question. 

“ About seven hundred.” 

“ Where are they % ” 

“ Here, in this package.” 

“ I will take them.” 

The constable, in much surprise, handed them over, 
inquiring when he should have them back again. 

“ Hever,” was the quiet answer. 

“ H-never ! ” 

“ They are not to be served.” 

“Hot — to — be — served! ” echoed the astounded offi- 
cial. 

“ Precisely. You can go now. If I want you again 
I will send word.” 


232 


RIVERFALL 


As soon as the man had left the house, Westland sent 
for Edna. He placed the writs in an open grate, and 
when she arrived lit a match and guided her hand to 
the combustible mass. Her pleasure at being the instru- 
ment to destroy that heap of distress was great. She 
was happy as a child. When the papers were con- 
sumed Mr. Westland donned his street attire and went 
in* search of Hugh Mayfield. He found him, and was 
beginning his communication when Ellen joined the 
group. This was not what Philip wanted. He had 
hoped to accomplish his intention without meeting her 
that night. 

As he looked into her clear eyes he felt a choking in 
his throat. How strong his love had grown for this 
superb creature, who seemed so far above him! He 
felt a dizziness coming over his brain. 

(< I am not as well as I thought,” he said, after a 
moment in which he tried vainly to throw off the ver- 
tigo. “ Will you both come to the Agency, where I can 
be more at ease ? I have something important to tell 
you.” 

Mayfield was a tactician. He had long realized that 
the greatest hope for his cause was the place in Mr. 
Westland’s heart that Ellen had taken. He scented at 
this moment that the opposing ranks were wavering. 
Surely Ellen would manage better alone, when her in- 
fluence would have full sway with their powerful oppo- 
nent. 

“ I can hardly spare the time,” he said. “ Will not 
Ellen do?” 

Westland bowed, speechless at the prospect thus 


RIVEKFALL 


233 


unfolded. Ellen alone with him ! He stammered that 
he would await her convenience, and she answered that 
she would attend him within an hour at the farthest. 

W estland had never known the distance from the vil- 
lage seem so long. He staggered in his walk, and won- 
dered if the people he met supposed he had been 
drinking. When he reached home he had a revulsion 
from extreme joy to awful fear. His entire future 
might depend on what was to occur within the next 
hour. Ellen’s attitude at this meeting would decide 
whether his hopes were to be fulfilled or blasted. 

Within the time she had specified Ellen came, and 
was brought at once into the parlor, where he awaited 
her. He motioned her to a chair, without attempting 
further civilities. 

“ Let us come to business,” he said, nervously. 
“ Would it be any object if I were to reopen the tene- 
ments the people have vacated and let them reoccupy 
them for the present ? I cannot promise that they will 
be allowed to remain long — perhaps not more than a 
week or two. But — if it will be agreeable to you — I 
will admit them on those terms.” 

“ Can you explain more fully ? ” she faltered. 

“ Hot now, except this : I have taken the balance 
of the unserved writs from the constable. The 
ashes you see on the hearth is all that remains of 
them. If the evicted tenants would like to go back — if 
you would care to have them — I will give permission at 
once. It is an act of my own — nothing to do with the 
directors — I have the power and can exercise it. When 
the people are ordered out again — as they doubtless will 


RTVERFALL 


be — a week’s notice will be necessary as before. The 

nights are growing colder and — I thought ” 

His words came slower and slower, and at last his 
power of utterance ceased. It was not a swoon, but 
merely the effect of over-exertion upon the vocal organs. 
Ellen knew there was more cause for this emotion than 
appeared on the surface, but she thoughtfully refrained 
from doing anything that might add to his discomfort. 

“ I will tell my people of your generous offer and 
advise them to accept it,” she said, without hesitation. 
“ As you truly say, it is very cold at night. Have you 
anything more to tell me % ” 

“ Yes, Ellen, there is another thing. I shall within 
a few days resign my position as an officer of the Cor- 
poration. I want to join your ranks then, and put what- 
ever aid I can give at your full disposal.” 

Her dazed look showed that she did not exactly com- 
prehend. 

“ As Ralph has done,” he explained, huskily. “ You 
have accepted him; you can accept me. I have not 
a large fortune, but what there is I will devote to — the 
benefit of the people — whom I helped to — wrong.” 

His voice had sunk very low again, but in the dead 
silence of the room she caught every syllable. 

“ I cannot affect blindness to the reason which actu- 
ates you, Mr. Westland,” she said, as soon as she could 
control her voice. “ You make this offer from regard 
for me personally; and that being the case I cannot — ” 
“ Understand me,” he interrupted. “ I ask for noth- 
ing; I expect nothing. I know at this moment — better 
than any words of yours can tell me — how hopeless it 


RIVERFALL 


is to think of that great reward of which, in an insane 
hour, I found myself dreaming. I have determined to 
give up my position with the company, and I wish ear- 
nestly to take the side you have taken. The people are 
very poor; their chance to obtain work here is rapidly 
passing away. The aid I offer, while not large, will 
prevent some suffering. You should think well before 
you refuse it.” 

Ellen listened. Used as she was to quick decisions, 
she found herself face to face with the greatest quan- 
dary in her career. 

“ As I have already said, I will advise my people to 
return to their homes. The other matter you must give 
me time to consider. Let me, however, thank you from 
my heart for what you are doing. I never doubted that 
Philip Westland, dissociated from the Great Central 
Corporation, would prove his noble nature. We have 
differed widely and remained friends through it all — 
never more, I am sure, than at this moment. God bless 
you ! ” 

She withdrew, her face radiant with new hope for the 
cause in which her life was bound up, and Westland 
immediately wrote a notice which he sent to the con- 
stable, ordering all seals taken from the empty tene- 
ments as fast as possible, the work to go on through the 
entire night. * 

Early the next morning, as Treasurer Baker passed 
through the village, he was surprised to see goods being 
carried into a house. He demanded what right the occu- 
pant had to be there, and, on being informed, became 
greatly enraged. Learning that Westland had just 


236 


KIVERFALL 


entered Ellen’s rooms, he ascended the stairs at a 
bound and burst unceremoniously in upon them. 

“ It seems I was right/’ he said, with clenched teeth. 
“ Your love affairs have made you false to your trusts 
and your honor.” 

Sleepless nights and exhausting days had weakened 
Westland, but he forgot everything in the presence of 
that man. 

“ Remember,” he thundered, “ that I am still clothed 
with full powers, as acting-president of the Corpora- 
tion. You can neither insult me nor my friends ! ” 

Baker backed out quickly, but his threatening voice 
could still be heard on the stairway. 

“ You have not long left to betray us,” he snarled. 
(i And as for that woman ” 

Westland was starting to inflict summary vengeance 
upon the fellow, when he felt a touch of magic power 
on his arm and paused. 

“ Those who would be my followers must learn to 
bear and forbear,” Ellen whispered. “ It is beneath 
you to lay a finger on him.” 

He caught her hand, pressed it reverently to his lips, 
and, overcome by emotion, drew her to him till their lips 
almost met. Then, frightened at his own temerity, he 
suddenly released her and left the house without a 
word. 


237 


RIVEUFALL 


XIX 

When Mr. Westland arrived at the Agency he found 
awaiting him a telegram that caused a diversion from 
the train of thought in which he had been indulging. 
It gave him something to do outside of Riverfall for 
the next twenty-four hours, and was in this respect a 
blessing, for the strain on his overtaxed brain was be- 
coming unbearable^ One of the largest holders of 
stock in the Great Central — a man whose interests he 
had managed to some extent since he took his present 
office — had met with a severe accident and urgently re- 
quested his immediate presence at the Fifth Avenue 
Hotel, where he was under the care of a physician. 

Arriving at the hotel on the following morning, West- 
land was met by Dr. Odlin, one of the most famous sur- 
geons of the metropolis, who spoke in that hushed voice 
which indicates more than it expresses. 

“ Senator Eastman is awaiting you, Mr. Westland, 
but before you enter his chamber let me explain the 
situation. Yesterday, while hunting on Long Island, 
he received an accidental gunshot wound from the 
weapon which he carried. Though part of his left arm 
was torn away, the injury might not have been fatal 
had medical assistance been near at hand; but, un- 
fortunately, before skilled attendance could be obtained, 
complications set in. When I told him frankly that he 
had no chance to recover he inquired with the utmost 


23 8 


KIVERFALL 


coolness how long I could keep consciousness in him. 
‘ Possibly twenty-four hours; perhaps not over fifteen/ 
I replied. As he seemed anxious to see you I sent a mes- 
senger to your office, only to learn that you were in 
Riverfall. I tell you candidly that he cannot survive. 
His mind is perfectly clear, however, and he is com- 
petent to transact any business he desires.” 

In the room in which Westland was conducted a 
handsome man of about forty-five lay, propped up by 
pillows. The scent of carbolic acid permeated the 
chamber. Philip noticed that the extraordinary pale- 
ness caused by excessive loss of blood only made more 
striking a face that would have attracted attention any- 
where. The eyes were dark and fiery and the hair and 
moustache were streaked with premature gray which 
carried with it, however, no impress of age. 

The wounded man grasped the hand that was ex- 
tended with a strength quite at variance with the 
physician’s prediction. It seemed incredible that with- 
in a few hours this soul would be asleep. 

“ Senator Eastman, I am truly sorry for your mis- 
fortune.” 

The remark only brought a smile into the invalid’s 
face. 

“ Let us attend to business matters,” he said, “ and 
then, if there is any time left — which I consider doubt- 
ful — you may fill it up with commiserations. Marden,” 
(to his attendant), “ I think I can spare you for a few 
moments.” 

As soon as the man had left the room the invalid 
began : 


RIVE RFA LL 


“ I rely implicitly, my dear Westland, on the judg- 
ment of Dr. Odlin, who guarantees me time enough to 
tell my story, though he says, also, that I never shall see 
another sunrise. I have made a will this morning and 
only wait your consent to serve as my executor to have 
it completed and witnessed. I have always supposed I 
should see my threescore and ten years, as my father 
and grandfather did, but the little affair of yesterday 
upset my plans. I trust you have time enough to hear 
my tale, which I fear you will find prosy.” 

The listener pressed the hand he held. 

“ Thanks. I imagine the value, as such things are 
reckoned, of my estate is something over half a million. 
I was married and there was a child — a boy — but he 
and his mother died some years ago. I have no near 
relations who need this money, but there is a chapter 
in my history that gives my conscience a twinge (you’ll 
understand such things better, if you ever find your 
time limited by a rascally surgeon), and I want to do 
what I can to set it right. 

“ Some twenty years ago or thereabouts (don’t in- 
terrupt me — you can talk, perhaps, for the next fifty 
years, and I must do mine now or never) I was a young, 
thoughtless scan, 4); no worse than plenty of others, 
perhaps, but bad enough. I had been elected to a seat 
in the Assembly, and my good father’s heart was set 
on seeing me make a figure in society and politics. In 
a luckless hour, however, he sent me down to Kiver- 
fall, to learn a little of the business of manufacturing, 
and for several months I lived there at the Agency, the 
guest of your Uncle John. One evening I encountered 


24-0 


RIVERFALL 


in the street a young girl, with whose beauty I was at 
once enraptured. She was the most innocent child 
imaginable, and had been over but a few weeks from 
England. What the dickens is the matter with you ? ” 

An exclamation had been drawn from the listener 
in spite of himself. His excitement was great; for he 
knew, as well as he could know anything, that the voice 
he heard was that of Ellen’s father! 

“ Go on, sir,” said W estland, huskily. “ When you 
have finished I will explain.” 

“ Perhaps you know the girl,” suggested General 
Eastman. “ Her name is Margaret Perry.” 

“ Ho, I never saw her,” replied the other, striving to 
regain composure. “ Pray continue.” 

“ It was the old story. The pretty English weaver 
soon had possession of what I then imagined was my 
heart. She loved me from the first and I found her 
simply enticing. One day a letter from my father 
urged me to come home at once, as an important divi- 
sion was to take place in the Assembly, and I tore my- 
self from Margaret, fully expecting to return and take 
her with me after a few days. One thing and another 
prevented, and finally came a letter saying that the 
worst had occurred. She begged me to come to her, 
but I began to wake from my dream. That would 
not only have ruined my political career, but I believe 
my father would have cut me off without a shilling. 
If I went to Margaret, I feared her pleadings would 
shake my resolution. So I did what cowards always 
do — sent her some money and tried to forget her. 
Don’t look at me like that, Mr. Westland! A little 


S 2 4- 1 


RIVERFALL 


clemency should be extended to a man who is dying .’ 7 

Thus reminded that his thoughts were too plainly 
revealed in his face, Westland tried to assume an air 
of greater calmness. 

“ It was a contemptible thing , 77 pursued the invalid ; 
“ I hope you don’t think we differ on that. The will 
I have made gives all my property to this Margaret 
Perry or her child, if either or both are living ; if not, 
to certain specified charities. Of that will I wish you 
to act as sole executor and trustee. Please touch the 
bell and ask Dr. Odlin to come in for a moment.” 

The button was touched mechanically, and the doctor 
made an examination of his patient. 

“ How long, Doctor ? 77 asked Mr. Eastman, cheer- 
fully. 

“ Hot as long as I hoped. You are liable to a relapse 
at any time.” 

“ Thank you. Has Mr. Wetmore, the lawyer, re- 
turned ? 77 

“ Yes, he is waiting, with witnesses. Don’t delay too 
much. Your pulse is very high.” 

As soon as he left the room the will was put into 
Mr. Westland’s hands. It was very brief, bequeathing 
all the earthly goods of Edwin Eastman to Philip West- 
land, Esq., as trustee, for the benefit of Margaret Perry, 
of Riverfall, if living, or to her child, if dead, the man- 
agement of the property to be in all respects at the 
trustee’s discretion. Then followed a list of alternate 
legatees. The document needed only the signatures. 

“ You will accept this trust?” said Mr. Eastman, 
earnestly, and Mr. Westland bowed in silence. The 


2/J.2 


RIVERFALL 


attorney and witnesses were asked to enter, and the 
legal formalities were soon over. When he was again 
alone with the injured man, Westland spoke feelingly: 

“ You have noticed my agitation and now that our 
business is finished I will tell you its cause. Your story 
has a greater significance to me than you could possibly 
imagine. Margaret Perry has long been dead. I have 
seen her grave — marked with only a piece of board, 
bearing her name and age. She left a daughter, whom 
rumor has always said was the offspring of a man of 
wealth, high in the political world. The child has been, 
like her mother, a weaver, and now that the relationship 
is brought to my knowledge I can easily trace her re- 
semblance to you. My dear Senator, your greatest 
loss in leaving earth so suddenly is in being deprived of 
a daughter of whom a king might be proud. Ellen — 
that is her name — is a girl of the rarest natural endow- 
ments, with a pure and noble countenance and a beauty 
of spirit which fits her for any society. She is loved and 
respected by all her comrades. Ever since I have 
known your daughter I have longed to make her my 
wife. Yes, after nearly thirty years in which no woman 
had ever affected my heart, Ellen won it at the first 
glance.” 

Mr. Eastman was lost in wonder for some moments at 
the strange revelation. 

“ Describe her to me,” he said at last. 

Westland tried, but found the task difficult. Lovers 
are not impartial judges. He was obliged to admit, in 
answer to the next question, that he had slight hopes of 
winning this girl whom fate had placed in opposition to 
him at the most critical point of both their lives. 


243 


RIVE UFA LL 


The Senator was sinking fast. Dr. Odlin examined 
him carefully again and intimated that the end was 
not far away. Philip left the room and, with a strength 
of mind that was astonishing, Mr. Eastman dictated 
several changes in the will and also the following 
letter : 

Fifth Avenue Hotel, New York. 

November 1 2th, 18 — . 

My Beloved Child Ellen: 

With only a few moments to live, the cause of which others 
will explain to you, I ask your forgiveness. As a late repa- 
ration for my long neglect — a neglect which gives me the 
only pang at leaving earth — I have tardily provided for your 
wants, leaving all I possess in trust with Philip Westland, 
whose father was my father’s intimate friend. Philip tells 
me, as things are told to dying men, that he loves you. Dear 
Ellen, if the time ever comes when you can confide your life 
to him, I feel sure he will not abuse the great blessing. My 
strength is failing. I can say no more. 

Your Father, 

Edwin Eastman. 

The weak fingers could only scrawl the signature. 
The change was indeed coming fast, but though the 
strength had departed from the maimed frame, intelli- 
gence lingered for some moments longer. After speech 
had failed, the Senator held Westland’s hand in his and 
pressed it faintly. Then the eyes closed, and all thought 
consciousness had fled, but they were mistaken. A 
minute later he roused himself, looked about the group^ 
as if to call all present to witness, and said, in a clear 
voice : 

“ I have asked my daughter Ellen to marry Mr. 
Westland.” 


RIVERFALL 


244 


It was the last flicker of a strong light. Senator 
Eastman was dead. 

Aside from the fault — the crime — to which he con- 
fessed on this occasion, the life of Senator Eastman had 
been honorable. His success in the political field was 
fairly won. The fortune he inherited made him neither 
a spendthrift nor a miser. Let us not minimize his 
cruelty toward the friendless girl in Riverfall, nor 
his heartless lack of interest in her offspring, of whose 
existence he had not even made sure. He did send 
Margaret Perry money, which was returned to him, 
but he tried after that to blot her from his mind, and 
succeeded only too well. 

According to a wish expressed by the dying man the 
arrangements for the funeral were of the most quiet 
character. Overtures of public officials, members of 
societies to which he had belonged and of other friends 
were all rejected; the simple services were to be held 
in the hotel where he breathed his last. An undertaker 
was put in charge of the remains, and Philip hastened 
to Riverfall, which he reached the following afternoon. 
It is almost as easy to bury a millionaire as a pauper, 
if one sets about it right. 

Going at once to the Agency, Philip found Edna in a 
somewhat nervous condition. Director Erastus Steb- 
bins had called several times, and from what she over- 
heard, and what the servants told her, his conduct 
showed considerable excitement. As they were talking 
the bell rang, and word was brought that Mr. Stebbins 


245 


RIVERFALL 


wished to see Mr. Westland as soon as possible in the 
office. 

Erastus Stebbins was a man of pompous mien and 
heavy voice. He had come to town in response to a note 
from Mr. Baker, and intended to say a number of very 
cutting and disagreeable things; but when Philip 
walked in and extended his hand it was taken in the 
usual way, while its owner tried to assume his ordinary 
expression. 

“ Is it true,” asked Mr. Stebbins, “ that you have 
permitted the families evicted from our houses to re- 
enter them ? I cannot believe it till I have heard the 
fact from your own lips.” 

“ It is true. I could no longer endure the sight of 
those people — most of them ignorant and all of them 
poor — exposed to the rigors of our Hew England 
climate. I had tested their determination to hold out 
against our reduced scale pretty severely. To go 
further, now that the frosty nights are upon us, would 
be indefensible. If such measures are to be continued 
it will be by some one besides me. My resignation is 
at your disposal to-day, if you wish it.” 

Mr. Stebbins said the situation was becoming grave 
for the owners of the property. He (Mr. Stebbins) be- 
lieved himself an honest man and (he hoped) a Chris- 
tian, but he had no intention of sacrificing millions of 
property on sentimental grounds. This and much more 
said Mr. Erastus Stebbins. And when he left the house 
he was promised that the resignation he desired should 
be ready as soon as the directors could be got together. 

He had hardly left the Agency when Colonel Caswell 



RIVERFALL 


called, in company with the Adjutant-General of the 
State, to learn if the Corporation believed the removal 
of the militia from Riverfall would endanger its in- 
terests in any way. 

“ I cannot in fairness speak for the Corporation,” 
replied Westland, “ as I have practically resigned my 
position. You remember, Colonel, I told you the day 
you arrived that I saw no reason why your men were 
needed. That statement — as a private individual, and 
not as a mill president — I now cheerfully repeat. I 
think you have had no severe outbreak to overcome,” 
he added. 

“ None. The conduct of the people has been admir- 
able. I doubt if so many unemployed persons were 
ever, in such circumstances, more orderly. They were 
under a restraint far stronger than that of my bayo- 
nets,” he remarked to his companion — “that of a 
woman whom they adore.” 

“ A wonderful woman, if all I hear of her is true ! ” 
responded the Adjutant-General. “ Well, Mr. West- 
land, if you see no need for our troops, I will order them 
removed. Chairman Hunt begs for a small detachment 
to continue the guard at his house, but I think he is 
unduly alarmed. Colonel, you may order your tents 
struck.” 

Westland reminded him again that he had not pre- 
tended to speak for the directors, but the Adjutant- 
General said the directors had never asked for protec- 
tion. It would be time to consider that matter when 
they did so. 

“ There is evidently no excuse for keeping our men 
here,” he added. 


247 


RIVERFALL 


“ I want to thank you, Colonel/’ said Westland, “ for 
your manly act in giving the use of those tents to the 
women and children. If I had any doubt about it at 
the moment it is over now. It was the conduct of a 
true gentleman, and I shall honor you as long as I live.” 

It must have been a mistake, but Colonel Caswell 
thought he saw a glistening drop in the speaker’s eye; 
and who ever heard such a thing of a mill president, 
even after his resignation had been determined upon? 

Soon as possible Philip took his way to Ellen’s rooms. 
He felt that all the ordeals he had gone through with 
were as nothing to the one before him — that he had now 
to face his hardest trial. 


24-8 


RIVERFALL 


xx 

Ralph Melbourg had fulfilled to the best of his ability 
the promise he made his little sweetheart, in relation to 
helping her at the duties assigned by Ellen. Never in 
his life had he put in so much steady work. The only 
thing that interfered with his labor was the frequent 
temptation to express the passion that fired his soul. 

“ Just one ! ” he would plead, when there came an 
instant that no person was in sight. And then she 
would run away and profess a comic fear that prying 
eyes might see. 

“ If you don’t stop I’ll have to tell Ellen ! ” she ex- 
claimed a hundred times, “ and she’ll give you some- 
thing to do in another part of the town. Now, mind 
what you’re about unless you wish to be sent away 
altogether.” 

“ Ellen ! ” he would answer, with a snort. “ I guess 
she knows how it feels to be in love herself. She’d have 
more mercy on a poor fellow than you have.” 

Then Nathalie would look wise and say, “ Of course 
Ellen thinks a good deal of Mr. Mayfield.” 

“ What a blind bat ! ” he would retort. “ Can’t you 
see Phil and she are head over ears in love with each 
other? The moment this trouble is settled you’ll find 
their engagement announced. Edna knows. She can 
see ten times as well as a person with two good eyes; 


249 


RIVERFALL 


and she told me long ago how she accused Phil of being 
in love, and he didn’t deny it.” 

Nathalie tried to whistle a bar of music. 

“ It takes two to make a bargain in matrimony,” she 
said, with a smile of incredulity. “ No doubt he loves 
her fast enough ; she may not care to marry him.” 

“ Pooh ! Do you think she’d refuse an offer from a 
man who can give her comfort and ease ? ” ‘ 

Nathalie asumed a pretty air of anger and asked if 
Ralph thought that was all a woman needed to make her 
happy. 

“ You’ve got a little property, yourself, and you 
think, I suppose, that a poor girl ought to be obliged to 
you for making her your wife ! If she were ever silly 
enough to accept your offer you’d throw it at her head 
twenty times a day that you took her in out of charity ! ” 

She always disturbed Ralph when she got into this 
strain, for the matter was very serious to him. 

“ Say ! ” he cried. “ If you’re not going to be my 
wife you might as well tell me now as at any other time. 
I’ll throw myself into the river and end my misery ! ” 

“ Go along, then ! ” she answered, with a toss of her 
blonde head. 

“ Good-by ! ” He started hastily for the door, but 
meeting Ellen at the entrance shrank back in dismay. 
Her quick eyes saw that something was the matter, 
and taking the young man by the arm she asked in a 
kind tone what had happened. 

“ She’ll tell you ! ” he replied in a tearful voice. 
“ Ask her.” 

“ What is it, Nathalie ? ” 


250 


RIVERFALL 


“ Oh, he’s such a silly goose! ” 

“ That’s the way she talks ! ” said Ralph. “ I can’t 
stand it any longer, and I’m going away for good.” 

Ellen looked from one of them to the other. She 
began to understand. 

“ Tell her the whole of it,” said Nathalie. “ You’re 
going to the river to throw yourself in.” 

To Ellen’s question whether this were true, Ralph 
hesitated and finally indicated by a nod that he had been 
correctly quoted. He held his head down, and the arm 
that Ellen touched trembled. 

“ What does it all mean ? ” asked Ellen, soberly. “ Is 
it because you love this girl who gives you such pain? 
And you” — she spoke sternly to Nathalie — “.do you 
think the way to show affection is to pretend you have 
none? I know the true state of both of your hearts. 
Make up this foolish quarrel and never let it break out 
again.” 

She put their hands together and clasped one over the 
other. 

“ My dear children,” she went on, though one of 
them at least was older than herself, “ the pure love 
of an honest heart is not a thing to trifle with. God has 
sent no greater blessing to his creatures than the affec- 
tion which leads to marriage. When you laughed, 
Nathalie, at Ralph’s statement that he was going to 
drown himself, did you think how you would feel if his 
dead body were brought to your door? Ah, little wo- 
man, if you ever know what it is to love another far 
beyond yourself — and to love him hopelessly — you will 
realize how great a prize you have trifled with ! ” 


2 5 I 


RIVERFALL 


She knew the lesson had been learned, and that there 
was no need to prolong the instruction. As she van- 
ished through the doorway Ealph and Nathalie stole 
shy glances at each other. 

“ You wouldn’t have done it,” she whispered. “ I 
knew you were only fooling.” 

“ I think I would,” he answered. “ But what did 
Ellen mean about loving hopelessly? It sounds as if 
she cared for some one whom we don’t know. As for 
Phil, he’s just crazy about her. What a blow it will be 
if it proves that she has another sweetheart in mind ! ” 

Edna’s name was then brought into the discussion, 
and Ealph reminded Nathalie that she had promised to 
pay a visit to his cousin. Now that Phil had decided 
to leave the directorate of the Corporation there was 
no reason why she could not meet Edna openly. The 
result of the talk was that Nathalie promised to go that 
very evening, and she did so. 

The reception which Edna gave the girl was all she 
• could have desired. Saying that her fingers had to take 
the place of eyes, she asked permission to “ read ” 
Nathalie’s features by touch, and the request was at 
once granted. For some minutes the blind girl made 
her examination, and when it was finished she kissed 
her new acquaintance. 

“ I don’t blame Ealph for loving you,” she said. 
“ You and I will always be friends, and I want you to 
come to me as freely as if you had known me all your 
life. I suppose to-morrow or the next day Philip and I 
will move to the Eiverfall House. I consider you al- 
ready my cousin, dear, for Ealph tells me you have 


252 


RIVER FALL 


promised to marry him as soon as these troubles are 
ended.” 

“ If they are ended by a victory for Ellen,” explained 
Nathalie, with a spark of the old spirit. 

“ I shall help all I can to have them ended that way,” 
said Edna, quickly. “ I may as well tell you I have had 
my maid write again to papa, who is sick in Florida, 
pleading strongly to have the old rate of wages restored 
and the mills opened. If his reply is favorable even Mr. 
Baker will hardly dare oppose us. In the meantime 
you may count on me for any assistance in my power. 
I sent a little money to Ellen once by Mr. Mayfield and 
she returned it. Her motive was undoubtedly a good 
one, but times have changed and she ought to trust me 
now.” 

When Nathalie returned to her room she sought 
Ellen and pleaded Edna’s cause. She told how ear- 
nestly the blind girl was now enlisted on the side of 
the suffering people — how she had written twice to her 
father in their interest — how she was only waiting for a 
word from the Leader to open her purse wide for the 
needy ones. Ellen promised to talk the matter over 
with her committee and decide the next day. 

“ I must tell you something now about myself,” con- 
tinued Nathalie, in a distressed tone. “ I’ve wanted to 
say this to you for weeks, but the right moment never 
seemed to arrive. The fact is, I came down to River- 
fall on purpose to injure you.” 

A look of calm inquiry rested on the immobile face. 

“ Yes, Ellen. Ralph knew me in New York; and 
he thought at that time the mill owners had the rights 


253 


RIVERFALL 


of the matter ; and he got me to come here and join you 
so as to find out your secrets — just like a detective, you 
know. I didn’t think then it was wrong and I wanted 
to please him, of course.” 

“ What changed your opinion ? ” The voice was 
steady. 

“ Contact with you — nothing else. Within an hour 
after we met I knew you were right and not he. The 
first time I saw him to speak to I told him so — and 
never, since that hour, have I wavered. You won’t 
disown me, will you, for telling the truth ? I would give 
my last breath to bring these poor people out of their 
terrible condition.” 

Ellen said only, “ Come here, dear,” and put her 
arms around Nathalie’s waist. Eor some time they re- 
mained in this position without speaking, and then Ellen 
asked, “ You consider yourself engaged to Ralph, do 
you not ? ” 

The girl explained the terms of the agreement. 

“ It must not depend entirely on that, my child,” 
said Ellen, soberly. “ When he is ready to promise 
before Heaven to guard you while life lasts, you must 
put no obstacles in his way.” 


254 555—5555555555555 5 RIVERFALL 


XXI 

As Mr. Westland passed through the village, on his 
way to Ellen’s rooms, each group of men he met set 
up a hearty cheer. It did not please him to be thus 
noticed, but he responded with a polite bow and has- 
tened on. In crossing the common, from which the 
guard had now been removed, he saw Treasurer Baker 
in a warm dispute with one of the militia captains. The 
words of the officer came distinctly on the evening air : 

“ I have warned you twice, and this is postively the 
last time. If you interfere with me again you will be 
put under arrest.” 

In turning from the captain, Mr. Baker came face to 
face with Mr. Westland. At sight of him the treasurer 
lashed himself into a fury and clenched his hands. 

“ Two days more ! ” he hissed, “ and I will have you 
turned out like a dog ! ” 

If he had stopped to examine the face of the man he 
insulted he would have found it perfectly unmoved. 
There were deeper questions to be settled that day than 
resenting the spleen of a disgruntled stockholder. 

Ellen opened the door to receive him, with the old 
smile of welcome. The experiences of the past week, 
the trials, the revelations of his love and her own, had 
left their traces on her face, but the smile was there 
still. She offered him a chair and for a minute he sat 
silent, regarding her with profound emotion. 


2 55 


RIVERFALL ess 


“ Ellen,” he began — it was so sacred to him, that name 
which everybody nsed so freely — “ you are strong, but 
there are tidings which none of us can receive placidly. 
Is there not some friend you can summon whose pres- 
ence will help you to bear a great sorrow ? ” 

She shook her head, but did not take her eyes from 
him. She was evidently alarmed. 

u There is one here already who loves you beyond 
his power to express — do not speak, it is needless. He 
cannot, however, shield you from the blow that is about 
to fall — that, in fact, has fallen. Are you well enough 
to listen ? ” 

She tried to speak, but the words would not come. 
She felt a dread at the mystery about to be unfolded, 
and yet could not resist the desire to know all. Finally 
she bowed a sufficient affirmative. 

“ There was once a lovely English girl who came to 
America and found work in a factory town called Kiver- 
fall. Her name was Margaret Perry.” 

He paused, for Ellen’s eyes had overflowed. From 
the fingers on which her face rested the drops fell fast. 

“ She was without friends or relations, in a strange 
land,” he continued, presently. “ One day the hand- 
some son of a rich family ” 

She lifted a hand to stay him. The subject he had 
broached was sacred, and had never been alluded to, 
in her presence, by man or woman, save what her 
mother herself had revealed. Ellen knew the history of 
her birth, but she could not bear that another should 
repeat it. 

Westland took the hand that she held up in protest, 


256 


RIVERFALL 


and she did not withdraw it from his grasp. Then he 
spoke in a very low tone : 

“ This morning, Ellen, I closed the eyes of your 
father.” 

He waited for the shock he expected, but it did not 
come. Instead the girl sat up and wiped the tears from 
her face. 

“ Is that the worst news you have brought ? ” she 
asked. “ You mentioned a — a misfortune.” 

“ I do not understand.” 

“ Listen, then,” she said, coldly. “ You tell me of the 
death of a man who perpetrated the greatest villainy 
on my darling mother ; who, though possessed of ample 
means, left his daughter to bear alone the burdens of the 
life h'e had thrust upon her; who married one woman 
to keep his place in society, while another claimed him 
by all the holy vows that he could utter ! You call that 
man my father , but you are wrong; I had none ! I 
trust you did not think one of these tears was for him. 
They were for the mother whose young life he cut 
short, whose last years he rendered more bitter than 
tongue can express ! Dead, is he ? How much better 
had he died twenty-five years ago ! ” 

Eor some moments Westland experienced a depth of 
feeling that nearly overpowered him. Lack of filial de- 
votion seemed well nigh unpardonable. He sat 
straighter in his chair, and when he spoke again his 
voice had a tinge of sternness. 

“ The funeral of Senator Eastman will take place to- 
morrow afternoon, at his late rooms in the Fifth Avenue 
Hotel, Hew York. Only three or four of his business 


257 


RIVERFALL 


associates have been invited, by his expressed wish. As 
it will be your sole opportunity to look upon the features 
of the man to whom you owe your being, may I hope 
to accompany you there ? ” 

It gave her intense pain to note the change in his 
manner, but she held out still. 

“ Why should I wish to see the face of that man, 
whose name I have no right to bear? I never knew 
how he looked, and I have no wish to know.” 

The voice of Mr. W estland grew still harder. 

“ He has made a will, leaving all his property, valued 
at half a million dollars, to you.” 

Ellen looked surprised, but no more pleased than 
before. 

“ To me ! ” she repeated. “ Nothing to the woman 
who took my mother’s place ! Did he desert her also ? ” 

“ She died years ago. Their only child died too, and 
he had no near relations. His last words, his last 
thoughts were of you ; with his latest breath he dictated 
this letter, and his last intelligent act was to sign his 
name to it.” 

He laid the missive before her on the table, but she 
made no move to touch it. 

“ I am named as executor and trustee of his estate,” 
he proceeded, as she did not speak. “ As soon as the 
necessary formalities are gone through with I prefer, 
however, to turn the entire property over to you.” 

It was hard for her to ask the question that was in her 
mind. 

“ By what name did Senator Eastman designate his 
illegitimate child ? ” 

17 


258 


RIVERFALL 


“ Let me read you the document,” ho answered. 
When he reached the words, “ Ellen, daughter of Ed- 
win Eastman and Margaret Perry,” she clutched tightly 
both arms of the chair she occupied. 

“ Do you imagine,” she asked, with deep feeling, 
“ that I will accept this money, coupled with an insult 
to my dead mother’s memory? Daughter of a woman 
who never was wedded by a wretch who deceived and 
abandoned her! I am proud to be the child of Mar- 
garet Perry, the poor mill-girl; but the fortune of Ed- 
win Eastman will never make me own myself his 
daughter ! ” 

With the same hard inflection Westland continued. 

“ At the proper time, then, I shall ask you to sign 
a release of your rights, that I may distribute this estate 
to the alternative legatees. I think we have no other 
business to transact.” 

As he rose stiffly the awfulness of his attitude began 
to dawn upon Ellen. Till now they had seemed to grow 
more attached at each meeting. The very last time he 
called their lips had almost met, and she had offered no 
resistance in her blind happiness at his touch. As she 
saw him about to leave in this frigid manner a tide of 
love swept over her. 

“ Business being ended — and such unpleasant busi- 
ness — let us talk for a little while,” she said. He had 
never seen her quite so pale. “ It is evident you are 
not pleased with me.” 

“ Ho,” he responded, laconically. “ I cannot pre- 
tend to understand a child who intends letting the cof- 
fin-lid cover her father’s face without one look, no 
matter what he has been to her.” 


RIVERFALL 


u The face of a man who put my mother’s face under 
a coffin-lid/’ she answered, quickly, “ is not one her 
daughter needs to see.” 

“ I cannot comprehend a hate that follows an enemy 
to the grave! You have not even read his last words 
to you.” 

She looked long at the letter on the table. Finally 
she took it up, and saying, “ I will read it if you desire,” 
perused the contents slowly. He was surprised to see 
the whiteness of her cheek give way to a wave of color. 

“ Have you read this ? ” she said, turning her crimson 
face toward him. “ It was unsealed.” 

“ I have not. I supposed it for your eye alone.” 

“ Head it.” 

He did so, and a flush as vivid as hers followed. 

“ You will believe me, Miss — Miss Ellen — when I 
repeat that I had not the least idea of the contents of 
this note,” he stammered. “ You cannot for a moment 
think ” 

She interrupted him. 

“ But, did you tell him what he says, in relation to 
me ? ” 

From another woman’s lips the question might have 
seemed immodest. From Ellen it was as natural as 
breathing. 

“ Let me set myself right,” he replied. “ Senator 
Eastman, whom I have long known in a business way, 
sent for me in haste. Finding that his hours were num- 
bered, his first thought was of your mother. Before my 
arrival he had made a will leaving all his property to 
her, or to her child, should it be living. In telling your 


RIVERFALL 


260 


father that I knew you I — did — refer to you as he says 
— but when he dictated this letter I was absent from 
the room. Soon after he signed it he became unconscious 
and never rallied.” 

Before she could speak again, Hugh Mayfield 
knocked at the door. It was a relief to the strain of a 
painful situation, and Ellen became herself again for 
the moment. She told Hugh, with the full confidence of 
long usage, what news Mr. Westland had brought, and 
how she had decided not to accept her legacy. To her 
surprise he answered without an instant’s hesitation, 
“ But you must, Ellen.” 

“ Must ? ” she echoed. “ Why ? ” 

“ I am surprised that you can ask,” he answered. 
“ You are offered the trusteeship of much wealth, which 
you can use for the benefit of the poor. With it you can 
relieve the wants of a thousand destitute families. You 
can build or buy a mill where they can obtain work. 
You can provide homes for them instead of hovels. 
You can furnish the sick with medicines, keep the chil- 
dren at school, become, in short, a Princess Bountiful. 
Would you decline an offer of bread when people are 
starving around you? If you stood by a stream filled 
with drowning men, would you refuse a boat by which 
to save them ? ” 

He turned to Westland and said with a positive air, 
“ She will accept the legacy.” 

It was the first time the mind of the man had domi- 
nated that of the woman. Clearly it did so, for Ellen 
made no protest. 

“ She will also attend the funeral,” Hugh added, 


26 1 


RIVERFALL 


after a brief pause. “ She will go to Hew York with 
you and do whatever is proper. Believe me, sir, she 
will be ready.” 

The prediction was fulfilled. The morning train 
carried Philip and Ellen to the city. At the Fifth 
Avenue Hotel he secured apartments for her, and also 
sent a modiste who took her orders for plain mourning. 
Hugh had exacted a promise that she would raise no 
unreasonable objections, and she stifled the rebellious 
feelings that constantly rose in her heart. 

Before the services Mr. Westland came to ask her to 
look upon the dead. He escorted her to the door of 
the room where the body lay, remaining outside. She 
had nerved herself for the ordeal; but when she saw 
that handsome face in the casket, and realized whose it 
was, her self-possession gave way. With a cry she 
threw herself upon the bier. 

“ Father, father! ” she wailed. “ Dear, dear father, 
forgive me ! ” 

She sobbed so wildly that Westland thought it best 
to enter the room. 

“ Did I say I did not love my father,” she exclaimed. 
“ T could not have said it ! Why was I not permitted to 
tell him of my love before he could no longer hear 
me ? Don’t you think he can comprehend — a little ? 
May it not be he can hear — and forgive me ? ” 

W estland told her he did not doubt it. It was a pious 
falsehood, but who can talk philosophy in the presence 
of the dead? Faith — blind, unreasoning faith, is the 
only medicine there. It is an opiate which can mitigate, 
even if it cannot cure ! 


262 


KIVERFALL 


Finally, supported by his arm, she turned faintly 
away. 

“ I did not think I could become so weak,” she said. 
“ I have no one left now. Not a single soul in all the 
world to care for me ! ” 

When they reached Biverfall again they parted at 
the station. Mayfield met them there and walked with 
Ellen to her rooms. She delayed so long in speaking 
that at last he said, “ Tell me everything.” 

As the kind tones fell on her ear she looked up. Yes, 
it was Hugh — steadfast, self-denying Hugh — who had 
proved himself worthy, over and over. 

“ Two terrible things have come into my life,” she 
answered. “ I have consented to take my father’s for- 
tune — which bears me down like a burden, and — I have 
promised to — marry.” 

A shadow, brief as the passing of a bullet, crossed 
Hugh’s features. 

“ I expected both. When is your marriage to take 
place?” 

“ No date has been arranged. I am carrying out my 
father’s last desire. Ah, Hugh ! you cannot imagine 
how dear he became to me when I saw him lying cold 
and dead! ” 

He knew not how to equivocate. 

“ Do you marry merely to please your father ? ” 

“ No, I do not mean that precisely,” she replied, with 
deepening color. “ I have liked Mr. Westland for a 
long time. You know that, Hugh.” 

“ Yes, I know. But why do you call your marriage 
a ‘terrible thing?’” 


263 


RIVERFALL 


She looked at him and through him. 

“ What could be more so ? What is so awful, so 
pregnant with possibilities for happiness or misery ? I 
had thought to go through life unwedded, a humble 
worker in these mills, content to do what I could to cheer 
the sad lot of those about me. How all will be changed. 
I shall have new opportunities never contemplated. I 
shall be a wife — perhaps a mother ! Oh ; Hugh ! I 
tremble before a future I have never before regarded 
with fear ! ” 

She waited for him to say something, but he remained 
silent. 

“ Philip will help me,” she continued. “ He is a 
man of business — he understands how to use that 
powerful thing called wealth. He is so wise, and I am 
so ignorant. When he came here he was a hard man, 
thanks to his imperfect education, but all that is 
changed. Why do you not speak? Of what are you 
thinking ? ” 

He smiled strangely. 

“ I was thinking how easily a woman finds excuses 
for a man she loves.” 

What did he mean? Honest, unselfish, straightfor- 
ward Hugh! She did not like to press him, and she 
changed the subject. 

“ Our funds were exhausted.” She took a roll of 
bankbills from her pocket. “ Here is a thousand dollars 
Philip has advanced me. He says I will have five hun- 
dred times as much. Is it not marvellous that one in- 
dividual can control such a sum — that one person can 
decree food and clothing to thousands? It is a power 
almost akin to that of Deity ! ” 


264- 


RIVE RFALL 


He looked at the money but did not touch it. 

“ To whom does this belong? ” he inquired. 

“ To me ! ” she answered, triumphantly. “ My 
own ! 99 

“And how did you obtain it ? 99 

“ It will be charged to my father’s estate.” 

“ How inconsistent ! ” he exclaimed. “ We have 
argued against this thing ever since we have known 
each other. W e have claimed that men who accumulate 
money have no moral right to dispose of it at death. 
We have preached the doctrine that such property 
belongs to the State. How, at the first test, we fail ! 99 

But Ellen had her answer ready. 

“ The State has not reached a plane where we can 
safely place our possessions in its care. Heaven knows 
how gladly I would give it the distribution of mine 
rather than take the task on myself ! If I did not know 
that Philip would assume the most of the burden I 
should hesitate even now.” 

He interrupted to tell her that a meeting of the direc- 
tors to accept Westland’s resignation was soon to be 
held, and that it was almost certain Baker would be 
chosen treasurer. 

“ Then how providential it seems,” she exclaimed, 
brightening, “ that the aid I bring comes in our darkest 
hour! We could hope for literally nothing from that 
bad man. But money — this powerful factor in the 
world as at present conducted — what will it not buy ? ” 

“ Happiness,” said Hugh, laconically. 

Her face clouded again. 

“You mistrust Philip! How can you! When he 


RIVERFALL 


553 265 

was our most determined opponent you always praised 
him ; now, when he is about to take our side completely, 
you doubt.” 

Hugh was not one of those who refrain from giving 
medicine merely because the taste is disagreeable to the 
patient. 

“ Philip Westland,” he replied, “ is a capitalist, bora 
and bred. If he wavers from his course it is not because 
his beliefs have changed. I understand him perfectly. 
He is under the control of a master passion that lulls 
his real convictions to sleep. Ellen, beware of him 
when he awakes ! ” 

His words distressed her, but she still wore the look 
of one who loves and cannot be deceived. 

“ He is not following the dictates of his conscience, 
continued Hugh. “ He has abandoned the standard 
of Duty to pursue that of Inclination. He sacrifices 
his sense of right to his love, as in the old myths men 
sacrificed their souls to the Spirit of Evil. For you 
he is crushing down every honest prompting of his 
heart; and no man can do that with impunity, how- 
ever mistaken those promptings be.” 

A glorified expression came into her face — a look 
like that the old masters caught out of heaven to illu- 
mine their Madonnas. 

“ Happy am I to excite love in the breast of such a 
man ! ” she cried. “ If Philip adores me as you be- 
lieve, he will be only too glad to carry out my plans. 
The fruits of his pernicious training will gradually dis- 
appear. Believe me, I will hold the husband’s love as 
securely as I have the suitor’s. Banish your uncanny 


266 55555555555555 - 5 - RIVERFALL 


fears, dear friend. The clouds are leaving our skies, 
we must not let them darken our faces.” 

Hugh talked for an hour later, hut without effect. 
In the optimistic light of Ellen’s new happiness sh© 
could see nothing that militated against her desires. 
He had merely succeeded in further exciting her bright- 
est hopes. 

Westland came in before they parted. When his 
eyes lit on Ellen’s happy face his heart gave a great 
bound. He took her hand with the reverence of a devo- 
tee, raised it to his lips, and faced Hugh. 

“ She has told you? Congratulate me,” he said. 

The “ mill hand ” looked at him with his frank, blue 
eyes. 

“ I can easily do that, Mr. Westland. But — can I 
do as much for Ellen? ” 

Westland’s face darkened. “ What do you mean? ” 
he demanded. 

A soft arm was placed around his neck, and he grew 
instantly calm. How foolish to mind one little speck 
in such a sun as shone on him that day! 

“ I am sorry it displeases you,” he said. “ I know 
how little I deserve such a wonderful gift, but to be- 
come worthy of it will be the aim of every hour I live. 
My resignation has been handed to the clerk of the 
Corporation, and I shall undertake the more agreeable 
duty of providing for the people out of work. I have 
much to learn, but you will find me an apt pupil. I 
need all the good will, all the aid, all the forbearance 
you can give me.” 

He extended his hand, and Mayfield clasped it. 


267 


RIVERFALL 


“ It was I,” said Hugh, “ who first brought you into 
this room. I shall never cease to regret that act . if it 
brings one pang to Ellen’s heart. We are to continue 
friends — very good. If we ever cease to be so, woe to 
the one on whom the blame shall rest ! ” 

He left the room without another word. 

“ Don’t mind, dear,” whispered Ellen, and at the use 
of that sweet appellation Philip brightened. “ Hugh 
is sometimes unaccountable, but he is one of the best 
fellows that ever lived. All you have to do is to ob- 
serve the conditions he laid down.” 

He laughed at this pleasantry, but grew serious im- 
mediately, and, taking both her hands in his, he asked 
if she had repented yet her promise to be his wife. She 
declared it would be absurd to answer such a question 
verbally, and for the first time her lips touched his. 

“When?” he asked, bending toward her. “When? ” 

“ Oh, not for a long time. There are so many things 
to be done. We must not think of happiness for our- 
selves till others are removed from actual suffering. 
Love should not make us selfish, Philip.” 

He drew a long breath. 

“ I have a plan,” he said, “ which may, possibly, be 
carried out in a few weeks, but if it takes more than 
that you must not be too cruel. Otherwise, I warn you, 
as heir to a large estate, I can have you put under 
guardianship, and get myself appointed to take charge 
of you.” 

Ellen laughed merrily at this, and pressed closer the 
hand she held. How sweet to have him on such inti- 
mate terms! 


^KIVERFALL 


268 


“ What is your great scheme? ” she inquired. 

“ Listen. I want you to do a little figuring with 
me. The Great Central Corporation is capitalized at 
$5,000,000, divided into ten thousand shares of the 
par value of $500 each. By your father’s will you 
have come into possession of six hundred of those 
shares.” 

“ Have I so many? ” she exclaimed, bewildered. 

“ Yes, Ellen. You have six hundred, I have two 
hundred and Balph has two 'hundred. That makes a 
thousand that we three control jointly. It requires 
five thousand and one shares to make a majority of the 
stock. If I had the power to vote that number I could 
elect a new board of directors and start the mills. My 
Uncle John has three thousand shares. Supposing he 
yields to Edna’s repeated requests and permits me to 
use those at my discretion we will have four thousand 
— almost enough.” 

“ There are so many IE’s,” she interrupted. “ And 
they look so gigantic ! ’ ’ 

“ There is another thing to consider. Though the 
par value of the stock is $500, the troubles here and 
the prospect of passing dividends (you understand 
the expression, do you not?) has greatly reduced its 
selling price in the market. I saw it quoted in the 
paper this morning at $307. Senator Eastman left 
over $200,000 in what is either cash or easily convert- 
ible into it. I can buy a good many shares at $307 
with that, and there are methods known as 6 hypothe- 
cating,’ by which the same money can be made to do 
duty several times over. Shall I send to my brokers 
to buy all they can on your account? ” 


RIVERFALL 


269 

Her answer was that she would leave it all to his 
judgment. If it was possible to start the Riverfall 
mills it was much better than a wholesale deportation. 

“ Oh, I hope you will succeed!” she added, fer- 
vently. 

“ How can I help succeeding with such an incentive! 
You are to wed me, remember, as soon as I start the 
wheels.” 

“ I promise,” said Ellen, with a blush, “ and the day 
cannot come too quickly. Go now; you make me say 
things I am ashamed of.” 

It is not easy for engaged lovers to tear themselves 
apart. It was not hard to persuade her to take a stroll 
with him, and they wandered down toward the river in 
the bright glare of the full moon. 

Then a strange thing happened. A terrific noise 
burst upon their ears, and the ground rocked beneath 
their feet! The air was full of smoke and dust, and 
from every direction crowds poured out of the houses. 
Was it an earthquake or some unexampled convulsion 
of the atmosphere? 

In a few moments the truth was passed from mouth 
to mouth, and the crowd took a single direction. 

Mill Ho. 4, the largest of the seven owned by the 
Great Central Corporation, lay a heap of ruins. 

It had been blown to pieces with dynamite ! 


2JO 


RTVERFALL 


XXII 

When Ezra Baker took Mr. Westland’s place at the 
head of the Great Central Corporation — as was his 
right under the by-laws, being next in rank after the 
president — he told the other directors exactly what he 
intended to do. The evicting process was not only to 
be gone through with again, but the emptied houses 
were to be filled with new workmen, with whom he 
would start up one mill after another as fast as they 
were ready. He had no idea of selling this great prop- 
erty at half its value. Cotton spinning had always 
been profitable in Riverfall, and a cotton-spinning vil- 
lage it should continue to be. 

If any interference took place with the new men, 
the military would again be appealed to, and next time 
there would be no half-way measures. When the 
backbone of the trouble was broken, he would hire such 
of the old hands as he might choose, but none who had 
made themselves conspicuous. As for “ that woman 
Ellen,” there was little to fear from her; having in- 
herited money she would probably take herself away. 

It was noon when the constable began tacking the 
new notices of eviction on the tenement doors. It 
was four o’clock when Mill Ho. 4 was changed in a 
moment from a fully equipped establishment of the 
first class to a smoking heap of iron, bricks, mortar and 


= 2yi 


rTvekfall 


dust, with a noise that shook every building within half 
a mile. 

Mr. Baker was among the first who hastened to the 
scene of the disaster. Though recognized by all, no 
one had a greeting for him. As he looked upon the 
wreck his lips grew white with rage. Two hundred 
thousand dollars would not more than repair the loss. 

And this was the net result of his first day as acting 
president ! 

As he stood there an employe of the office came and 
thrust a letter into his hand, which had been found on 
the doorstep of the Agency. Mr. Baker tore open the 
envelope and read, with staring eyes, the following: 

One of your mills has fallen. If the eviction cards are not 
removed before to-morrow evening, another will go down. 
A guard will have no effect whatever. You cannot save it, 
except by taking down the notices. Make your choice ! 

Justice. 

Mr. Baker lost no time in proceeding to the office of 
the chief of police and showing him the letter. 

“ A lovely condition of things! ” he ejaculated, when 
the chief looked up. “ Now, what are you going to do? 
Am I to see my property destroyed before the very 
eyes of your force ? ” 

The chief hemmed gently. He did not wish to of- 
fend this great man, and yet he thought Mr. Baker 
ought to understand one or two matters. 

“ My entire force numbers but fifteen men,” he said. 
“ How can they guard seven mills covering a space of 
nearly a mile? Probably the explosive used was dyna- 


272 


I? I VE ft FALL 


mite, and I judge from this note that each mill has a 
quantity of the same material placed under it. It is 
not necessary for the person who is to cause the wreck 
to go inside the gates; an electric contrivance would 
obtain the same result. I see no way but to temporize 
until another body of soldiers can be brought here. 
My little force cannot handle a case like this, sir.” 

The treasurer sniffed indignantly. Nothing is more 
provoking than to have a police department — no mat- 
ter how insignificant — show its inadequacy to deal with 
any question whatever. If you lose your purse — or 
your child — or your wife — your immediate inquiry is 
“ Where are the police?” Should they fail — within 
ten minutes — to restore the missing article, in its origi- 
nal condition, their uselessness has been amply demon- 
strated. 

Mill No. 4 had been blown to pieces an hour ago, and 
the ftiverfall police had not yet caught the culprit; 
now the chief had the impudence to intimate that un- 
less terms were made with the scoundrels all the other 
mills might share the same fate ! Who can blame Mr. 
Baker for growing excited, and vowing that he would 
have the chief and his men turned into private citizens 
before he was a week older? 

The treasurer sent next for Chairman Hunt of the 
Town Council. The official had been so badly fright- 
ened by the explosion that his teeth were still chatter- 
ing. He related with shaking jaws how earnestly he 
had plead with the militia to remain and guard at least 
his own residence, which, he had no doubt, was mined 
and liable to go skywards at any moment. Baker was 


s 273 


KIVEKFALL 


disgusted with the fellow’s pusillanimity, hut he felt it 
wise to conceal his sentiments as, from his official posi- 
tion, Mr. Hunt might be useful. He advised him to 
take the next train to the capital, seek an audience with 
the governor and ask that a regiment — or if possible 
two — be sent to Riverfall early the next morning. A 
score of Pinkerton detectives should also be engaged, 
to come quietly into town in citizens’ dress and go into 
the ferreting business. 

Chairman Hunt was delighted at any excuse to leave 
Riverfall, where he confidently expected to be mur- 
dered if he remained. With his teeth still chattering, 
he slipped through back alleys to the station and de- 
parted by the first train on his errand. 

Ralph was sitting with Edna in her private parlor at 
the Riverfall House when the explosion occurred. 
They had been talking of Ellen’s inheritance, and won- 
dering how it would affect the great desire of Philip’s 
heart. The terrific noise startled both, but especially 
the blind girl, whose first thought was of an earth- 
quake. Though quite unable to assign a cause for the 
disturbance, Ralph soothed her as well as he could, and 
hastened out to learn what had occurred. 

He had been gone but a few moments when Nathalie 
came to make a call. The French girl and Edna were 
now attached friends, and Miss Westland welcomed her 
joyfully. She brought the missing news, and Edna 
begged to be taken to the scene. Notwithstanding 
her lack of eyesight, she had a way of comprehending 
events, and was as anxious as any one in the village to 

l8 


274- 


s RIVE UFA LL 


reach the spot. On the way the girls met Ralph, whom 
Edna plied with questions. 

She wanted to know so many things that he had dif- 
ficulty in answering her. She asked for a description 
of the mill and its surroundings before the explosion 
and of its present condition. When told that dyna- 
mite was probably the instrument of destruction, she 
wanted more particulars about that article than he 
could give. A mill, covering half an acre of ground, 
had collapsed in a second. Such an immense force in- 
spired Edna with an awe she could not express. No 
one among the thousands that stood about the vicinity 
felt more deeply the awful disaster. 

To the numerous questions and replies Nathalie 
listened attentively, but said nothing. She seemed 
“ scared out of her wits,” as the saying is, and clung 
to Edna’s arm, pale and trembling. 

Presently the crowd made way for Philip and Ellen. 
Philip had not spoken to Ralph since the night when 
the young man, in a violent temper, accused him of 
heartlessness, and avowed his intention of leaving him 
forever. No witness would have suspected, however, 
that there had been strained relations between the 
party. Philip extended his hand cordially to Ralph, 
who grasped it; Edna introduced “ My friend, Miss 
La Verre,” and Ellen spoke to each in turn. The look 
of happiness too deep for words was still upon her 
face, and many of her old friends who noticed it whis- 
pered to each other that the story of her inheritance 
must be true. As she turned with the others to walk 
away, an old woman threw herself at her feet with a 
loud cry. 


RIVERFALL 


275 


“ They say you’re a rich woman now, Ellen, and 
never will work with us again! God bless you and 
keep you, say I! But can’t you spare just one of your 
million dollars to buy medicine for my sick old man! 
We haven’t a penny in the house! ” 

Quietly Ellen took out her purse and handed it to 
the suppliant. There was not very much in it, but 
considerably more than the sum asked for. 

“ God will bless me, Mrs. Westermark,” she said, 
with feeling. “ He has blessed me. But I am not 
going to leave my comrades; I shall remain and be their 
Ellen, just the same.” 

The crowd surged around the happy old woman, and, 
as she repeated what had been told her, some wept for 
joy, while others gave a faint hurrah. When the party 
were out of hearing of the throng Philip told Edna in 
a low tone that his greatest wish was to be realized — 
that Ellen had promised to be his wife. 

“ Ho one is more pleased than I,” exclaimed the 
blind girl. She put out her hand, and Philip guided it 
till it clasped the one it sought. “ Ellen,” she said, 
“ you are going to take my big brother, my dearest 
friend on earth except my father. It will be lonesome, 
but I am glad, just the same. I realized how much he 
loved you even before he knew it himself. When are 
you to marry? ” 

Ellen looked proudly at Philip. 

“ That depends,” she said. “ We are to gain a con- 
trolling interest in these mills before we own each 
other.” 

Ralph and Nathalie had walked on, busy with their 


2y6 


RIVERFALL 


Own interests, and Mollie, like a discreet maid, lingered 
behind. Westland explained to Edna his plan of buy- 
ing up stock, but told her not to mention it to any one, 
as secrecy was important. He said he should take the 
train back to the city in the morning and buy all the 
shares he could on the falling market that the news of 
the explosion would be sure to cause. 

Soon Edna called Mollie and left the lovers together. 

“ I have much to do,” said Ellen. “ I must prepare 
a manifesto, declaring my detestation of this act of 
vandalism, which cannot have been done by any par- 
tisan of mine, though no doubt they will lay it to us. 
If we can get control before Mr. Baker puts his evic- 
tions into effect it will save untold suffering; otherwise 
my fortune must be drawn on to help the poor. What 
a pleasure it is to give to the needy ! How much those 
people miss whose only care is to pile up wealth! ” 

Chairman Hunt, with teeth still chattering, found 
the governor that night, and induced him to issue 
orders that another regiment of militia should be sent 
to Riverfall on the following day. The news of the 
demolition of Mill No. 4 had been flashed over the wire, 
and the governor was, therefore, prepared to act at 
once. Directions were sent to Colonel Kempton, who 
commanded the Second Regiment, to take five of his 
companies to Riverfall, his future actions to be gov- 
erned by his own discretion. 

It was too late to get a train for home after Mr. 
Hunt had finished this business, and he would not have 
ventured to enter without a guard the town over which 


^77 


RIVERFALL 


lie was supposed to preside. He retired to a hotel and 
dreamed all night of fleeing before mobs who sought 
his life, of being blown up in explosions and of finding 
himself in other disagreeable situations. In the morn- 
ing he succeeded, by making himself known to the of- 
ficers of militia, in getting aboard the special train 
which conveyed them, but even there he was not free 
from apprehension. 

It was a crisp, cold day. The soldiers, wrapped in 
their heavy overcoats, debated the prospect. Chairman 
'Hunt told them that probably all the mills — the only 
unoccupied buildings in town — were mined with dyna- 
mite^connected in some secret manner with the hiding- 
place of conspirators, who would enjoy nothing better 
than pulling the string on the least provocation. It 
is one thing to charge bayonets on a crowd, and quite 
another to fight against a foe who possesses such a 
weapon as this. Some of the younger militiamen 
wished they had been slower in responding to their 
captain’s call. A judicious attack of illness at the right 
moment might have averted serious consequences. 

Colonel Kempton was not the same kind of man as 
Colonel Caswell. The former had an enlarged idea of 
what was necessary to discipline, and would never have 
offered any part of his quarters for civilian use. It 
was well for the people of Riverfall that he came the 
second time instead of the first. Chairman Hunt gave 
such a vivid account of the ferociousness of the men 
with whom he was to deal that word was sent through 
the train to have every rifle loaded with ball cartridge, 
and so thoroughly was this order followed that sev- 


278 


RIVERFALL 


eral men managed to bore holes through the roofs of 
the cars in which they rode before they had gone twenty 
•mi les on their way. One of them even succeeded in 
blowing off a thumb. 

News of the coming of the soldiers had been wired 
to Mr. Baker, and when the train rolled in he was at 
the station, pacing up and down like a caged tiger. As 
soon as he had given the necessary directions, Colonel 
Kempton, accompanied by Chairman Hunt and Mr. 
Baker set off for the Agency, now the residence of 
the new acting president. The fright of the town’s 
chief official had been growing more pronounced as he 
approached Biverfall. As he alighted from the train 
his pallor attracted general notice, and a shout of ridi- 
cule rent the air. He was an insignificant man in size ; 
and walking between Colonel Kempton and Mr. Baker 
— both rather tall — he looked much like a monkey 
dressed up for exhibition. Somebody cried out, “ Look 
at the coward ! ” upon which he clung frantically to the 
colonel’s coat-tails, and besought that functionary to 
shoot the offender on the spot. 

Though disgusted at this craven spirit, the military 
commander concealed this repugnance as well as he 
could. He was too good a soldier to be carried away by 
personal feeling. 

As the trio marched through the streets the crowd 
retreated sullenly before them, but a parcel of irrepres- 
sible boys dogged their steps at a safe distance, shout- 
ing uncomplimentary epithets at the obnoxious chair- 
man. 

“ Oh! git on ter little Hunt! ” 


RIVERFALL -——2-----^ 279 

“ He wint aff ter git the sojers ter pertect him! ” 

“ Hi, Johnny, d’ye moind the ghost? ” 

“ What a shmall bit o’ mate fer such a big sand- 
wich! ” 

An orderly of the colonel’s, who followed in his rear, 
turned several times and made a feint of attacking the 
lads, upon which they started to run away; but per- 
ceiving by the merry twinkle in his eye that he had no 
serious intentions, they returned to their verbal assault. 
When the Agency was reached Mr. Hunt was on the 
verge of frenzy; and when the door was closed upon his 
pursuers he wiped the perspiration from his forehead, 
though the thermometer on the piazza at that identical 
moment registered four degrees below the freezing 
point. 

Colonel Kempton listened attentively to all that 
Treasurer Baker had to say, though there was a great 
deal of it. He read the anonymous letter threatening 
further destruction, and admitted that the situation 
was critical. 

“ I’m glad you’ve send for Pinkerton’s men,” he 
said. “ Soldiers in uniform cannot ferret out such 
things as this. There’s one thing, though, you must 
do without delay. Those notices of eviction must come 
down.” 

Treasurer Baker responded by a fearful oath. 

“ I’ll see every mill in Biverfall blow to ” (a 

warm place) “ before I’ll do that ! ” he shouted. “ If I 
wanted to surrender to these scoundrels I need not 
have sent for you. A thousand of the notices are up, 
and the rest shall go up as fast as the constable and his 
men can post them! ” 


RIVERFALL 


280 


Colonel Kempton shrugged his shoulders. 

“ I suppose you know your business,” he said, coolly. 
“ But if, as this letter intimates, all the mills are mined, 
the conspirators may decide to blow them up at once, 
if they are excited too much. My plan would be to 
temporize with such an enemy, in order to crush him 
more effectually later.” 

As Mr. Baker was about to repeat his assertion De- 
tective Murray, of Pinkerton’s, was announced, whose 
reputation, it is needless to say, is equal for shrewd- 
ness to any on that remarkable force. 

“ I came to Cutlerville,” he explained, “ and drove 
over with only two of my men, so as not to attract at- 
tention. Several others have gone on to Hosmer, and 
will walk from there, and more will come this after- 
noon.” 

Mr. Baker told his story in detail again, and though 
Murray had heard nothing of what Colonel Kempton 
said, he came to the same conclusion. 

“ You must take those notices down,” he said, “ as 
fast as you can send men to do it.” 

“Kever! ” cried Mr. Baker, purple with rage. 

“But you must! We need time above all things. 
To provoke a dynamiter is to put a premium on wanton 
destruction of property. Give me a chance to catch 
the rascals, and after that you can put up all the notices 
you wish. You will find but few in the secret. It is 
not the sort of thing a big assembly takes up. These 
mills cost a mint of money, and you have no right to 
imperil them.” 

Mr. Baker clenched his fists. 


28 1 


RIVERFALL 


“ The mills can be saved if the colonel will follow my 
directions/’ he said. “ There’s not a dwelling within 
fifty rods of the gates. March your men down there 
and surround all the mill property with a strong guard. 
Then extend your lines outward in the direction of 
the tenements, from which the exploding apparatus 
would undoubtedly be worked. Get a warrant and 
search the premises as you go. Act as if you meant 
business, and, my word for it, you’ll have this thing un- 
covered before another day is over.” 

Detective Murray smiled at the treasurer’s impetu- 
osity. 

“ That scheme might work, and again it might not,” 
said he. “ If dynamite has really been placed under 
the other mills, and is attached to an electrical appa- 
ratus, it is more likely to be operated a mile away than 
near by. This trouble has been going on for weeks, 
and the plotters have had every chance. If we are to 
get them into our net w T e must pare their claws by a 
little apparent conciliation. You really must take 
down those notices.” 


282 


RIVERFALL 


xx III 

Mr. Baker had just repeated “ They shall never — 77 
when another visitor was announced. It was Mr. Eras- 
tus Stebbins, who had just arrived. He looked much 
worried, and listened carefully to a report of the con- 
versation that had taken place. 

“ Take down the notices ? 77 he echoed, when Detec- 
tive Murray repeated his advice. “ Certainly they will 
be taken down ! Do you think / 7 he added, warmly, to 
Mr. Baker, “ that we are going to lose a million dollars 
just to gratify your vanity. The notices will come 
down, gentlemen, if I have to go and take them down 
myself ! 77 

Mr. Baker struck his hand heavily on the table. 

“ I am acting president of this Corporation , 77 he be- 
gan — 

“ You won’t be much longer , 77 retorted Mr. Stebbins, 
hotly. “ I have a telegram here from John Westland 
giving me full power to act for him, and I will get the 
directors together instantly. Those notices must come 
down, I say ! 77 

“ Hot while I am in office ! I will never countenance 
such a dastardly deed ! 77 

“ Confound it ! 77 ejaculated Mr. Stebbins. “ Do you 
know what our stock sold for after the close of the 
Board last night? Two hundred and ninety, and fall- 
ing! Let another mill go down and it won’t bring a 


28 3 


RIVERFALL 


dollar a bushel ! I’ve got an interest in this thing, 
sir ! Two-thirds of all I’m worth is invested here ! Do 
you imagine I’m going to beggar myself that you may 
gratify your temper ? Ho, sir ! The notices must come 
down, sir! Do you hear me? The — notices — will — 
come — down ! ” 

At the end of each sentence the excited man shook 
his fist close to the face of the treasurer; merely for 
the purpose of emphasizing his remarks, however, and 
with no belligerent intention. But Mr. Baker was as 
angry as he. Striding to his desk he hastily wrote his 
resignation and thrust it into Mr. Stebbins’ hand. 

“ How you can do what you blamed please ! ” he 
said, with set teeth. “ If any one could make a bigger 
mess of it than you will I’d like to know who. You 
are acting president, as Chairman of the Board of Di- 
rectors, and if the Corporation has more than a brick 
yard and a scrap iron heap to-morrow night it won’t 
be your fault. I wash my hands of the whole matter. 
These gentlemen ” — he indicated whom he meant — 
“ will witness that I warned you ! ” 

Upon which Mr. Baker tore himself off in a huff and 
slammed the door after him. 

“ I shall run this place myself,” said Mr. Stebbins 
to those who remained. “ Give me your best advice 
and I’ll follow it. That pig-headed donkey would have 
ruined everything in a few hours more.” 

Detective Murray looked gratified. 

“ Order the notices taken down, for the first thing,” 
he said. 

“ That is also your opinion ? ” asked Mr. Stebbins of 


284 


RIVERFALL 


Colonel Kempton, and received an unqualified affirma- 
tive. 

The new president called a servant and despatched 
him for constable Carlson. 

“ Now to business / 7 said Mr. Murray. “ Have you 
a suspicion of any one ? 77 

“ Not really a suspicion. That Baker has excited 
me so I hardly know anything . 77 (He paused to take' 
breath.) “ There was one fellow who refused to obey 
his notice and held his tenement by force after the 
others went out. The constable knows who he is, and 
they say he 7 s a bad man. You might look him up . 77 
(He paused for breath again.) “ We must get out of 
this muss the easiest way we can. I thought it cold 
when I left home this morning, but I begin to believe 
it 7 s the hottest day in the whole year ! 77 

Again the door-bell sounded, and shortly afterwards 
Ellen and Hugh were ushered into the room where the 
consultation was being held. The beauty and stateli- 
ness of the “ mill girl , 77 still clad in plain mourning, 
impressed all of the gentlemen, though in different pro- 
portions. Hugh introduced himself and then Ellen to 
Mr. Stebbins, whom he knew by sight, and that gentle- 
man presented both to the others. Mr. Stebbins asked 
Hugh if he wished to speak to him in private, or would 
as lief the colonel and detective heard what he was to 
say . 77 

u Ellen will answer you , 77 was the quiet response ; 
and Ellen arose and spoke with ease and fluency. 

“ We come, Mr. Stebbins, to express our conviction 
that the injury to your property was not caused by any 


RIVERFALL 


£ 285 


of the people belonging to the Weavers and Spinners 
Union, which we represent. You cannot regret the oc- 
currence more than I, and I desire to offer my aid, in 
any way you may suggest, to unearth the perpetrator 
of the crime.” 

“ Will your people open every door to us without a 
warrant ? ” 

“ Every one!” she replied with emphasis. “ You 
will not find the guilty person in my ranks, sir. I have 
preached forbearance too long to have my words hear 
such fruit as this.” 

Detective Murray took up the anonymous letter 
which Mr. Baker had received, and which had been 
left by him on the table. 

“ Do you know that handwriting? ” he asked Ellen. 

A shocked look came into her face as she perused the 
note. 

“ I do not, sir,” she answered. “ I cannot cojiceive 
how such an infamous proposition could emanate from 
any sane man. It is simply horrible.” 

Constable Carlson arrived at this juncture, and was 
notified to use all diligence in having the eviction pa- 
pers removed from the tenement doors. He made no 
comment. He never quarrelled with his bread and 
butter. The oftener the notices went up and came 
down the better for him. 

“ By the way,” asked Mr. Stebbins, “ what was the 
name of the man who refused to obey the previous 
notice? The man who fortified himself in his room? ” 

“ William Converse,” replied Ellen. “ He is not 
under my jurisdiction. When he refused to obey the 


RIVERFALL 


286 


order served by Mr. Westland be was expelled from 
the society.” 

Detective Murray went to a window and meditated 
for a moment, apparently on the prospects of the 
weather. When he returned he said to Ellen, “ I trust 
it will not inconvenience you and Mr. Mayfield to stay 
here for an hour or so. I am going to search the house 
of this man Converse. While I have the most per- 
fect confidence that neither of you are concerned in 
this matter, you may remain here till my return. You 
will be under no restraint — unless you should try to 
leave, in which case my assistants in the next room 
would probably prevent you. Colonel, if you will fa- 
vor me with your company? ” 

Mr. Stebbins was amazed at the cool proceeding of the 
detective, but he followed Mr. Murray, the colonel and 
the constable. When they were alone Hugh turned to 
Ellen and spoke bitterly. 

“ Do you realize that we are under arrest? ” 

“ Yes,” she smiled. 

“ You do not seem to mind it! ” 

“ Ho. The arrest of an innocent person carries no 
disgrace. I only hope they will succeed in discovering 
the man who blew up the mill.” 

Hugh’s face grew troubled. 

“ If it turns out to be Converse,” he said, “ he will 
have to pay the penalty.” 

“ As he should.” 

He grew extremely restive. 

“ If you knew it was he, Ellen, would you aid these 
hounds of the law to apprehend him — this man, whose 


RIVERFALL 


287 


life lias been cursed since the first cloudy day of his 
existence? Would you not help him to escape; or, if 
taken, would you not defend him? ” 

“ I would not ! ” she .answered, decidedly. 

“ I would! ” exclaimed Hugh. “ Yes, with the last 
drop of my blood! ” 

She trembled. He had never spoken to her like 
that. 

“ Do you think it was Converse? ” she asked. 

“ I fear it.” 

She paced the room nervously in silence for some 
minutes. 

“ Hugh, do you recall that night when he was re- 
bellious in the assembly; the night he advocated meet- 
ing force with force — and how he disturbed me? ” 

He assented. 

“ My friend, at that time I escaped a great danger. 
A little less of determination and I might have fallen 
into the snare. You are now passing through a similar 
trial. Be careful you are not led too far! ” 

The cloud did not lift from his thoughtful face. 

“ There is a limit to endurance,” he said, gloomily. 
“ I am sorry — yes, I am sure I am — that the mill was 
destroyed. But I am equally sure I would save the 
man, if I could get between him and the law. They 
would sentence him to long years of imprisonment, at 
least, perhaps to the gibbet! This punishment he 
would have to bear for his zeal in our behalf, for his 
attempt to cripple our enemies. Do you really hope 
they will find him, when you know how awful will be 
his fate? ” 


288 RIVERFALL 

She felt the absolute need of firmness, though her 
woman’s heart quaked within her. 

“ Yes/’ she answered. 

“ Even if it were Converse, after all his wrongs? ” 

“ Even if it were you ! ” 

He leaned back in his chair and spoke gutterally. 

“ Or Philip Westland? ” 

She placed a hand over her left breast and grew 
whiter. The theme was to painful toj continue, and 
they dropped it by common consent. Tlo more was 
said till Detective Murray returned. 

“ I shall have to keep you a little longer, I am sorry 
to say,” was his greeting to Hugh. “ You may use 
the jailer’s parlor at the lock-up if you prefer it.” To 
Ellen he said, “ You are at liberty, madam, and I am 
sorry you have been incommoded.” . 

Mayfield looked like a thundercloud about to burst. 

“ On what charge do you detain me? ” he demanded. 

“ Anything you like to call it,” was the cheery an- 
swer. “I think it best to have you handy. It won’t 
do any good to get riled. Which do you prefer, this 
office or the jail? ” 

Hugh curbed his anger as well as he could, out of 
regard to Ellen. 

“ The jail, by all means! ” he replied. “ If I am to 
be a prisoner, put me where prisoners are kept. I 
have lived an honest life for four-and-twenty years. 
I fear to tell no act I ever committed. Ellen, you will 
tell your people there is no charge against me. I am 
ready, sir.” 

Pie walked off in an officer’s custody, and Ellen went 


2§g 


RIVERFALL 


to lier lodgings. Two detectives who had been con- 
cealed in a room adjoining that in which Hugh and 
Ellen held their conversation had reported it in full to 
Mr. Murray. 

Nothing had been found in the room which Con- 
verse occupied. According to instructions the con- 
stable went ahead and took the notice from the door. 
On hearing the noise the Englishman came to ascer- 
tain the cause, and when he learned expressed his satis- 
faction loudly. Then Detective Murray and an assist- 
ant appeared and grasped him by the arms. 

“ We are going to search these premises for unlaw- 
ful articles,” said the detective, “ and you may as well 
submit quietly.” 

Converse grinned from ear to ear. “ Search all you 
like,” he said. “ And if you need help call on me.” 

They inspected the room he occupied and then the 
entire building, but without avail. There was nothing 
to hold the man for, and they released him, having to 
hear some very ironical remarks as they went away. 

“ Sorry to have troubled you,” said Mr. Murray, with 
a red face. 

u Don’t mention it,” grinned Converse. u Come 
any time. Come often. I shall always be glad to see 
you. Only don’t have any more notices tacked on my 
door. They spoil the woodwork.” 

The last they saw of him he stood in his doorway, 
with his mouth stretched sardonically. 

In half an hour every person in Riverfall knew that 
Hugh was locked in the jail, though charged with no 
offence. Only Ellen’s influence prevented a demonstra- 
19 


2go 


RIVERFALL 


tion. Westland had gone to the city on the business 
which he had planned, and she was quite alone with 
this emergency. She told her people that they must 
continue their good conduct, and that the results would 
soon tell in their favor. She referred to the second 
removal of the eviction notices, and in the general joy 
her words had the effect desired. 

Acting President Stebbins was glad when the con- 
stable came to tell him that none of the pieces of paper 
remained up. He thought the danger of another ex- 
plosion was over now and drew a breath of relief. Be- 
fore sunset, however, he received a note which made 
him seek Detective Murray with all speed. Together 
they studied the new message: 

If Hugh Mayfield is not set free before the clock strikes 
eight to-night, another of your mills will go into the air. A 
word to the wise is sufficient. 

Justice. 

A comparison of the missive with the one previously 
received showed it was in the same handwriting. 

“ We must let him out,” said Mr. Murray, grinding 
his teeth, “ but we will have him shadowed every sec- 
ond. Hang it, Mr. Stebbins, this looks very much like 
anarchy! ” 


XXIV 


RIVERFALL 


291 


The dreaded hour of eight passed and no other mill 
in Biverfall was shattered. It was evident that the 
dynamiters were well informed of all that was going on. 
When released from prison — where, in spite of his re- 
quest to be placed in a cell, he was only allowed to oc- 
cupy the jailer’s sitting-room — Hugh exhibited him- 
self freely in the village. The property destroyers 
were evidently men of their word. They could be 
dealt with on an understood basis. What troubled 
President Stebbins was that he could not tell what their 
next demand might be. For the moment the volcano 
was not emitting fire; but it was not cheering to reflect 
that, at the fancy of a concealed foe, the possessions of 
the Great Central Corporation were liable to be en- 
gulfed in its stream of lava. 

Before Mr. Westland’s departure he placed suffi- 
cient money in Ellen’s hands to supply the temporary 
wants of the unemployed. So long as they could re- 
main in the tenements no great danger of excessive 
suffering need be feared. The mills were now sur- 
rounded by a cordon of soldiers on the land side, though 
for what purpose it is difficult to say, since the enemy’s 
advance guard was without doubt already inside the 
breastworks. The Pinkerton men scattered about the 
village attracted no attention among the many sight- 
seers that now arrived on every train. The news of 


2Q2 


RIVERFALL 

what was going on at Biverfall had been read at every 
breakfast-table in the country, and attracted unusual 
attention. 

AVhenever Converse left his rooms he was shadowed. 
A minute examination of the ground in the vicinity 
of the mills was also made in the hope of finding a sub- 
terranean connection, but nothing of value was dis- 
covered. The militia shivered at night in their tents, 
and the guard paced up and down before the deserted 
mills. 

On the second evening Ellen called a mass-meeting, 
and when the largest hall in the place was packed with 
her followers, Detective Murray conceived and carried 
out an original .plan. The soldiers were sworn in as 
peace officers. When three hundred of them had sur- 
rounded the building on every side Mr. Carlson and Mr. 
Murray entered and announced that all present were 
under arrest. 

There was a moment of consternation, followed by 
symptoms of an outbreak, and then Ellen’s clear voice 
was heard. She bade the officers do their duty, saying 
all would submit to the law, and that no force would be 
required. Mr. Murray announced that he merely 
wished to prevent those present from leaving till the 
end of an investigation which had begun, and advised 
all to be at their ease. 

The Pinkerton men, during this time, were busy. 
Few doors were ever locked in the village, and access 
to most of the tenements was easily obtained. But 
President Stebbins, waiting anxiously at the Agency, 
had another note brought to him, and also the bearer, 


RIVERFALL 


a very small boy, who was half frightened to death 
when collared and dragged into the great man’s pres- 
ence. The little chap, bawling loudly, declared that the 
note was given to him by a man he had never seen, who 
handed him twenty-five cents for delivering the mes- 
sage. Mr. Stebbins read the letter, and then went as 
fast as his legs would take him to find Colonel Kemp- 
ton. 

The letter read as follows: 


It is now half -past nine o’clock. If the persons held in 
Riverfall Hall are not released at half-past ten another mill 
will go down ; and so on — one each hour — till all are free. 
A word to the wise ! 

Justice. 

Colonel Kempton, when he read the note, did not 
know what to say. Detective Murray, who soon ar- 
rived, was also nonplussed for an instant. 

a We have settled one thing,” he said. “ The author 
of that note is not in the hall, and we are equally cer- 
tain it is not Converse, as we have specimens of his 
handwriting. 

“ It is possible, of course, that this anonymous writer 
is frightening us unduly,” said Colonel Kempton. “ It 
may be that no other mill is mined, and that he cannot 
fulfil his threats. If we refuse to release the people 
we can learn how much confidence to place in his verac- 
ity. It might be a costly piece of information — do not 
understand that I advise it — but I would give some- 
thing to know.” 

President Stebbins shivered at the suggestion. 

“ Good heavens!” he exclaimed, “ these mills cost 


294- 


KIVERFALL 


on an average a quarter of a million! I never can takef 
suck a risk as that. It would mean absolute ruin if we 
were wrong. Ho, Mr. Murray, tell Carlson to release 
the people as soon as he can.” 

As Mr. Murray went on this errand he met Converse, 
and saw the broad grin of the morning still upon his 
face. It was a grin of triumph, and carried with it the 
conviction that the Englishman knew the secret of the 
plot. 

Ellen was speaking to an attentive and hushed au- 
dience when he arrived, and the detective had to wait a 
moment before he could deliver his message. 

“ My friends, you have still left for your deliverance 
that most potent weapon — the ballot; a weapon you 
have allowed too long to rest in its scabbard while your 
foes have despoiled you. It is for you to say whether 
a friend of equal rights shall represent Riverfall at the 
State Capital or a tool of the privileged classes. The 
caucuses of the dominant parties have already nomi- 
nated candidates, but where is the choice between them? 
Have either ever curbed the insolence of capital or 
made endurable the lot of labor? When we refused 
to toil in yonder mills for barely enough to keep body 
and soul together, what had they to offer us — a bayo- 
net! Let us send to represent us a man whose entire 
energies will be devoted to our cause, a man whom we 
love and honor, and who has our complete confidence. 
You all know whom I mean — Hugh Mayfield.” 

A shout of approval arose, and by a viva voce vote 
the name was declared the unanimous choice of the 
meeting. 


RIVERFALL 


295 


As Hugh appeared cheer after cheer rent the air 
again, but he stopped the demonstration with a wave 
of his hand. 

“ For the too complimentary remarks of the leader 
whom we all revere ” (he bowed to Ellen) “ and for 
your approbation, my kind friends, let me return my 
thanks. I shall never be found backward in any work 
where I can hope to serve you. If I believed I could 
do half as much in the Legislature as you seem to think, 
I would not rise, as I now do, to decline your nomina- 
tion. Comrades, I am only a poor spinner, lacking the 
graces and accomplishments necessary to success in 
such a position. Among so many able men my voice 
would be very feeble; hut you have now on your side 
one who — if his professions are to be relied upon — has 
your interests at heart as much as I, and ten times my 
capacity to serve you. I wish to withdraw my name 
and to substitute that of Philip Westland.” 

Amid shouts of mingled approval and disapproval 
Ellen’s voice was again heard. 

“ Mr. Westland is not a legal resident of this State, 
and is consequently ineligible. Hugh Mayfield’s dec- 
lination is in order. Those in favor of accepting it 
will say ‘ Ay.’ (No response.) “ Those opposed will 
say ‘ Ho.’ ” (A shout shook the building.) “ Hugh 
Mayfield is your candidate. See to it that he is elected, 
or never again complain of the unfair laws that govern 
you.” 

The crowd then surged around Hugh and assured 
him of their loyal support. He shook his head doubt- 
fully, saying they must not expect too much from one 


2<p6 


RIVERFALL 


so inexperienced. Mr. Murray stepped forward, made 
his announcement and left with a feeling of disgust. 
He thought how unfit for a gentleman to live in the 
country would be with such ignorant people to make 
the statutes. 

Ralph Melbourg had been very uneasy all that after- 
noon. He resented the appearance of the Second Regi- 
ment in Riverfall, and did not fancy the “ airy strut,” 
as he termed it, with which its colonel paraded the 
streets. He had no fancy, either, for the destruction 
of his property (as one of the small stockholders), 
which he thought the military made more probable. 

Before Westland’s departure for the city he had had 
a long talk with him, and the two men cemented their 
former friendship. But all that Philip seemed to think 
about was his coming happiness as Ellen’s husband, 
and Ralph did not yet deem it wise to introduce the 
subject nearest to his own heart, the love he had for 
Nathalie. Philip did not know, of course, that the 
young woman whom Edna had introduced was the girl 
of whom Ralph had talked weeks before, and presumed 
the troubles at Riverfall had driven her out of his mer- 
curial cousin’s mind. 

A letter had been received from John Westland, 
bearing that gentleman’s signature, though written by 
his attendant, reiterating his well-known views on the 
questions concerning which Edna had appealed to him. 
Hanging almost on the edge of the grave, he had yet 
the tenacity of will and fixity of purpose of the old 
days. He went so far as to command his daughter to 
cease giving aid to people whom he felt were injuring 


RIVERFALL 


him maliciously. He had heard his news through Mr. 
Baker, and was disposed to take a serious view of the 
matter. There was even a covert threat that it was 
not to late to alter his will, which left nearly all of his 
fortune to her, if she persisted in her “ ridiculous sen- 
timentalism.” 

“ Philip has written me a letter in which he shows 
that he, also, has gone mad,” said Mr. Westland, Sr. 
“ It is hard, when I am confined here by illness, to be 
troubled with these things, hut I trust you will both see 
your duty in its right light, and cease opposing those 
who know more about what is best to be done than 
either of you.” 

Ralph could not find much hope in Philip’s plan to 
gain control of the mills while his uncle, the largest 
holder of the stock, continued in this attitude. Mr. 
Stebbins, though a more agreeable person than Mr. 
Baker, was no more likely to become one of Ellen’s 
supporters. But what worried Ralph most on this 
particular day was the fact that Nathalie was out of 
health, and that he had not seen her since the previous 
evening. She had appeared very nervous and fidgety 
the last time they met, and now she seemed trying, for 
some reason, to keep out of his way. He had been half 
a dozen times to her room, only to find the door locked. 
He went in and out of the Riverfall House, where Edna 
tried to entertain him, but with poor success. He 
wanted Nathalie, and no one else would do. 

He paced the street, asking various persons if they 
had seen her. He attended the big meeting, was locked 
in with the others, and searched the sea of faces in vain. 


2g8 


HIVERFALL 


When the crowd left he stood near the entrance, hop- 
ing he might have missed her in the throng, and when 
the last one had departed a chill came over him. He 
decided to go and see if Ellen could give him any infor- 
mation. 

She was alone, engaged in reading for the tenth 
time a letter from Philip Westland, the first real love- 
letter she had ever had. It declared that every hour 
semed like a year, when away from her, and all that 
sort of thing. Sensible men act very much like other 
people when writing to their sweethearts. 

“ Good-evening, Mr. Melbourg,” she said, glancing 
up as Ralph entered. 

“ Do you know where Nathalie is? ” he asked, breath- 
less. “ I can’t find here anywhere.” 

She smiled into his anxious eyes. She knew now, 
better than ever before, how to appreciate his feelings. 
Taking him by the hand she led him across the hall, 
knocked softly on the door, said “ Nathalie!” and, 
strange to relate, Mile. La Yerre opened the portal. 

“ Where have you been? ” Ralph asked hurriedly. 
“ I have hunted for you ever since two o’clock.” 

Nathalie changed color and looked so distressed 
that Ellen came to her rescue. 

“ You missed quite an adventure, my dear, by not 
being at the meeting,” she said. “ We were all kept 
under guard for an hour.” 

“ I — I meant to go,” stammered the girl, “ but I — 
fell asleep. I was — very — tired.” 

Ralph did not look pleased. 

“ And you slept through all the racket I made! I 
came here half a dozen times! ” he exclaimed. 


R/VERFALL 


299 


“ She has sat up a good deal lately/’ said Ellen in ex- 
tenuation. 

“ Why did they arrest you? ” asked the girl, to change 
the conversation. 

“ I don’t know,” answered Ellen, “ but I’ve heard 
why we were released. President Stebbins received a 
letter threatening to destroy another mill if they did 
not let us go within an hour. I wish I knew who is re- 
sponsible for these things,” she added seriously. “ I 
could almost take him to the police station with my own 
hands.” 

The color left Nathalie’s face, till it was pale as 
the ceiling of the room. 

“ Such threats have kept the mill owners from turn- 
ing us out to freeze again,” she ventured. 

“ Yes,” Ellen responded, “ and deprived us of what 
public confidence we had gained. I have been to Mr.- 
Stebbins and assured him none of my followers would 
do such an outrageous thing, but he believes us guilty. 
I told Hugh I would denounce any man who did it — 
even if it were himself.” 

She then returned to her own room, leaving the 
lovers in the hallway. 

“ You are not well,” said Ralph. u I’m sorry I 
spoke as I did. Go back and finish your rest. It’s 
very plain you need it.” 

She was much agitated, though striving to conceal 
her feelings. 

“ Why do you tremble so? ” he asked. 

“ Do I? ” She paused a moment, and then burst 
out, “ Dear Ralph, would you care very much if I were 
DEAD?” 


300 


RIVERFALL 


He took her face between his hands and looked at 
her intently. 

“ See here! You want a doctor! ” he cried. 

“ No, I am only tired — and nervous. To-morrow I 
shall be well again.” 

He begged her to be careful, and she called him 
u darling ” for the first time as they parted. 

He thought he would go to his room and retire, but 
he was now too uneasy, so he strolled aimlessly about 
the deserted streets. Half an hour after he left his 
sweetheart he found himself again in the vicinity of her 
lodging, where he could see her darkened window. Fi- 
nally, as he was about to turn away, her door opened 
and a little figure, cloaked and muffled, came out, look- 
ing carefully in both directions. 

It was Nathalie beyond question, and, though stupi- 
fied at the sight, Ralph was not a moment in deciding to 
follow her. What could this mean so soon after she had 
promised to retire and spoken of her exhausted condi- 
tion ? The lad’s suspicious jealousy was faintly aroused. 
He walked in the shadow till he saw her pause at the 
ladies’ entrance of the Riverfall House, glance care- 
fully around, and disappear inside. 

It was very late, but Ralph went boldly into the hotel, 
where he slipped a dollar into the hand of a boy who was 
just about to close the house. The information gained 
was to the effect that Nathalie had gone to Miss Edna’s 
rooms. The lover’s jealous feelings were calmed, but 
his curiosity did not abate. 

What could Nathalie want of Edna at that hour ? 

He cautioned the boy not to mention his visit and 


3oi 


KIVEKFALL 


went back into the street to watch. He did not be- 
lieve the girl would stay very long, and he meant to see 
her safely home when she came out. A long time 
passed and he was about to give up the investigation 
when the ladies’ entrance of the hotel opened again 
and there stepped forth — not one figure but two. As 
he saw that the second woman was Edna his wonder 
grew greater yet, and he was about to follow them 
when a new surprise awaited him. 

A man, evidently on the same errand as himself, 
came out of a hiding-place opposite the hotel, and began 
to shadow the couple. Ralph, with the utmost care to 
avoid discovery, began to shadow the man. And in 
this manner, watching and being watched, the quartet 
pursued their way through the semi-darkness. 


302 


RIVERFALL 


XXV 

The reader may now as well be told the truth about 
Nathalie, if, indeed, with that acute sense which baffles 
much shrewder writers than the present one, he has not 
already guessed it. The little French girl had lent her- 
self to the schemes of the dynamiters, being persuaded 
that a wholesome display of force was the only thing 
to strike terror into the hearts of the mill directors. 
They used their arguments in vain for a long time, but 
at last she succumbed and they found in her a most 
valuable ally, as will be seen when several things are 
taken into account. 

To begin with, she was a woman, and it is well known 
that, once committed to a plot, women are more trust- 
worthy than men. She could not be bribed. She had 
more than the average intelligence. Added to this, her 
room was in the same building with Ellen’s. In case of 
a general search that was likely to be about the last 
house in Eiverfall to be examined, the strong stand she 
had made against lawlessness being well known. 

Nathalie was for some time averse to entering on a 
course of action so totally at variance with her leader’s 
frequently expressed views; but was finally persuaded 
that, while Ellen could not openly endorse the destruc- 
tion of a mill or two, her cause would profit immensely 
by it. “ Unless something is soon done,” said her 


30J 


RIVERFALL 


tempters, “ the new president will order us out of doors 
again, and next time we have no hope of clemency. If 
we can hold this threat over his head he will pay atten- 
tion to our demands.” 

The plotters were, as had been rightly guessed by 
Ellen, outside her circle, being, in fact, a small party of 
anarchists who had come to Riverfall to exhibit their 
peculiar methods at what they believed an opportune 
moment. Before Nathalie was consulted, the destruc- 
tive agent was placed under every one of the mills, and 
connections made with an electric current at a point out- 
side the section where they were located. When her 
consent was won, it was but the work of two or three 
days — or rather nights — to arrange a keyboard under 
the floor of her closet, where only a most diligent search 
would discover it. Nothing was required of the girl 
but to press a given key when she received the signal. 

When we remember that in Russia princesses have 
been induced to take part in plots to murder an emperor, 
it is not wonderful that such a girl as Nathalie could 
be made to think herself justified in helping destroy 
the property of those she believed her natural enemies. 
She experienced a shock when Mill No. 4 was wrecked, 
but the feeling soon wore off. There was an exultation 
in knowing that she controlled that which could make 
the haughty capitalists pause in their cruel work, and 
bring even the representatives of the military power to 
their knees. Hiding in her room, with not even a light 
to betray her presence, she almost hoped the signal 
would be given to explode the second charge. Such is 
the fascination of a potent secret to a susceptible mind ! 


304 


RIVERFALL 


The remarks that Ellen let fall, however, when Ealph 
called, produced a revulsion in the young girFs brain. 
That plain, unqualified statement of her superior that 
she would denounce the dynamiters, if she knew them, 
put a very different face on the matter. That Ellen dis- 
approved to the last degree of what she had done 
ISTathalie could no longer doubt. This being the case, 
she was as anxious to retrace her steps as she had been to 
take them. 

But how to go to work was the question. She had a 
well-grounded fear of her accomplices, who, should they 
suspect her of playing them false, would probably kill 
her without scruple. When Ealph left she racked her 
tired brain for some way of saving the mills, and could 
find but one that seemed feasible. 

She must penetrate secretly into the basement of Mill 
No. 7 , where the main connections were laid, and cut 
the wires. 

The streets in the vicinity of all the mills were 
patrolled by soldiers, but under cover of the darkness 
Mill No. 7 could be entered from the waterside by a 
boat. It was a bold scheme for a woman to undertake, 
but Nathalie nerved herself for the attempt. She hated 
to go alone, from natural timidity, and Edna was the 
only person whom she dared ask to accompany her. 

Midnight is not so different from noon, when one is 
sightless; and though she were present when the wires 
were cut, Edna could not testify to seeing it done. She 
was ready for bed, and was naturally astonished at the 
visit. 

“ Edna, dear, would you mind going for a little walk 
with me ? ” 


RIVERFALL s -sssssssssssssasssas 305 

“ Where ? ” was the reply, in a tone of great surprise. 

“ I know it will seem strange, but I am obliged to do 
some very particular business and I dislike to go alone. 
It is a secret and I don’t wish you to ask questions.” 

Miss Westland looked disturbed. 

“ A secret ? ” she returned. “ Ah ! perhaps it is 
something for Ellen.” 

“ Yes.” Nathalie grasped eagerly at the suggestion. 
“ It is something she wants done very much indeed, 
but you must never let her know I came to you about it. 
I am supposed to go alone — but I dislike to so much — 
please wrap yourself up and come.” 

The authority of Ellen’s name settled all doubts in 
Miss Westland’s mind, and without more delay she 
dressed herself warmly and put on her rubbers, accord- 
ing to directions. 

The girls believed that they had escaped the house 
without observance and took a circuitous route, to avoid 
the patrol. After going a quarter of a mile they passed 
through a gate into a field and pursued their way by a 
footpath to the opposite side of the town. Eeaching the 
river side, Nathalie untied one of several boats moored 
there and assisted Edna to a seat. 

It did not occur to the blind girl that she was running 
a great risk. She had perfect confidence in her com- 
panion, who was, she did not doubt, carrying out Ellen’s 
orders. With hardly a perceptible sound the boat was 
propelled to the rear of Mill No. 7. It was not the first 
time Nathalie had handled oars, having been born on 
the banks of the Seine. Eeaching her destination she 
stepped ashore, tied her craft, assisted her companion 


20 


jo6 zsssss~ss~~ssss~ RIVERFALL 

to land, and then, walking like cats across the interven- 
ing space, the girls entered the building. It was by the 
very door that Ralph had left unlocked for Nathalie 
when she met him there several weeks previously, and 
which he had omitted to fasten in the hope that a later 
rendezvous might be arranged. 

It was dark as pitch out of doors and no less so in- 
side, but Nathalie found a seat for Edna near the en- 
trance, and, whispering a warning not to move till her 
return, stole softly across the great floor to a stairway 
that led to the basement. Creeping through the dark- 
ness she found the place where the apparatus was hid, 
and lighting a match to make sure, severed the wires 
with a large pair of shears she had brought for the pur- 
pose. 

When the work was accomplished she experienced a 
feeling of intense relief, and, also, at the same time a 
faintness from the lessening of nervous tension. In 
ascending the stairs again her strength gave way, and 
she was obliged to rest when only half way up. As 
she sat there, her heart palpitating, she heard a piercing 
scream from Miss Westland, which sounded horribly 
blood-chilling in that inky environment and awoke un- 
nameable fears. Nathalie dragged herself to the floor 
above and started in the direction of the sound. 

The man whom Ralph had followed was Ezra Baker. 
Coming home late from a visit to an acquaintance, Baker 
had perceived two young women leaving the Riverfall 
House, and had no difficulty in identifying them. Their 
being on the street at such an hour was enough to arouse 
suspicion, and he decided to ascertain their errand. It 


3°7 


RIVERFALL 


did not occur to Baker that another might be on his own 
track. When he saw the girls enter the boat he was 
sure that something in connection with the dynamite 
plot was being carried on, and he felt a keen joy at the 
prospect of unravelling the mystery. He let the girls’ 
boat get quite a distance before he took another to 
follow it, for the need of great caution was evident. 

Fastening his skiff a little lower down stream than the 
other, he stole, with the step of a jaguar, after these two 
girls. The door had been left wide open, and he entered 
the mill. 

Edna was sitting, as has been stated, upon a bench 
near the entrance. Her abnormally quick senses ad- 
vised her that a third person had come into the building, 
but she had no means of knowing if it were sufficiently 
dark for her to escape observation. As a matter of 
fact, had she not moved, Baker would not have been 
likely to see her; but hearing stealthy footsteps ap- 
proaching she started instinctively in the direction 
which she had heard Nathalie take. Could she reach 
the stairs undetected she might descend them and give 
warning. 

As Baker caught the sound of a woman’s light steps 
and hastened toward them, Edna’s foot hit against an 
obstruction and she fell headlong. It was then that the 
scream was uttered. 

Balph was but a few moments behind Baker, whose 
identity he made sure of as he saw him take the boat. 
Skiffs were plenty, and the younger man had his tied 
above the two others by the time Baker had entered the 
mill. He had no definite idea what the girls had come to 


3 ° 8 


S3 RIVERFALL 


do, but though he had to admit that things did not look 
right, he did not mean to leave them in the company of 
a man like that. And thus it happened that, when 
Nathalie heard Edna’s cry, there were four persons in 
the building instead of two. 

The sound of his cousin’s voice, raised to a pitch that 
denoted extreme fright, startled Ralph. Quickly de- 
ciding that he must have a light at all hazards he found 
a gas jet and lit it, when Baker stalked toward him. 

“ So you are in this plot, too ? ” he said threateningly. 
“ Well, I am not surprised.” 

Miss W estland crept to her cousin’s side, feeling her 
way, and trembling visibly. 

“ You are a liar ! ” was Ralph’s angry retort. 

“ What are you doing here at this time of night 
then ? ” asked Baker, with a sneer. 

“ I came to watch you ! I saw you creeping through 
the town after these girls, and I knew it could be with 
no good object ! ” 

“ Indeed ! ” snarled the other. “ And what are they 
doing here ? ” 

“ They can speak for themselves.” 

“ They can, and they shall ! ” exclaimed Baker. 
“ They are here on some mission connected with the 
scoundrels who are ruining our property and most likely 
you are their abettor. I will have you all under lock 
and key in half an hour and let you prove your inno- 
cence, if you can, before a judge and jury ! ” 

Nathalie, who had paused at the sound of the alterca- 
tion, now came and threw herself at Mr. Baker’s feet, 
raising her hands imploringly. 


309 


RIVERFALL 


“ It’s not their fault, sir ! ” she cried. “ It’s all 
mine. Call the police; I will be very quiet and go 
where they please. Believe me — by the soul of my 
mother! — Miss Westland did not know what I was go- 
ing to do, and I have not seen Mr. Melbourg until this 
moment ! ” 

In his horror at her assertion Ralph completely lost 
his temper. 

“ What devil persuaded you to join in such a deed? ” 
he cried. “ Had you no pity for those who loved you ? ” 

Nathalie looked the picture of woe. She crawled 
toward her lover. 

“ Listen,” she said. “ I came to save the mill, not to 
destroy it. I have just cut the wires. Don’t look at me 
so cruelly. I am faint and cold. I feel as if I were 
dying.” 

lie turned his back to her and put his hands over his 
eyes to shut out the sight. Edna clung to the arm she 
had taken, unable to offer either aid or advice. It was a 
situation in which she could do nothing but suffer. 
Baker had disappeared in the excitement, and was prob- 
ably carrying out his threat to denounce the trio as 
soon as he could reach the guard. 

“ Won’t you believe me ? ” repeated Nathalie, in pite- 
ous tones. “ Ralph, won’t you believe me ? ” 

“ No ! ” he shouted, walking nearer the door. “ Not 
content with disgracing yourself, you must bring my 
poor, unhappy cousin to share your folly! We are 
going. The police will soon put you where you belong.” 

But hardly had he taken ten steps when the large 
window on one side of the mill was dashed in with a 


3io 


RIVERFALL 


terrific noise, the gleaming barrels of fifty rifles ap- 
peared and a sonorous voice gave the loud command, 
“ Fire ! ” 

In another second every rifle was discharged and then 
the soldiers rushed into the place. Ralph and Edna 
were grasped by rough hands and hustled to one side, 
while the gas jets in all directions were lighted. Detec- 
tive Murray came with the others and soon was bending 
over a still form on the floor. 

“ It’s the little French girl,” he said, to a subordinate. 
“ Go to her room, Stinson, and make a thorough search. 
You, Carmody, look into the house where young Mel- 
bourg has been staying. Step lively! We shall have 
the whole thing in our hands if we’re wide awake ! ” 

Ralph dragged his two guards to Nathalie’s side and 
knelt on the floor, clasping oue of her white hands. 

“ My God, is she dead ? ” he moaned, pressing his lips 
to hers. “ No, she is not — she cannot be ! Some one go 
for a surgeon, please! Perhaps the bullet has only 
stunned her. Darling, open your eyes and speak to 
me ! ” 

Detective Murray bade one of his men hasten for a 
doctor. Ralph’s grief, deep and profound, affected all 
who stood near. At a signal from their chief the guards 
stepped back a little, leaving the young man fr£e for the 
time. 

“ The last words she heard me speak were of unkind- 
ness,” Ralph ejaculated. “ God grant she may at least 
rouse long enough to say she forgives me ! She was to 
be my wife,” he added tenderly, in explanation of his 
sorrow. 


RIVERFALL sssssssssssssssssssz JIT 

He kissed the still features again. Never till now had 
he realized how dear to him that child had become. 

Edna, who was permitted to approach, knelt by his 
side and touched the inanimate form. Her fingers 
rambled over the face. 

“ She lives/’ she announced. “ I believe a surgeon 
can save her. Don’t give up, Ralph. Have courage.” 

Colonel Kempton, who had been hastily summoned, 
now joined the group. 

“ Hr. Melbourg, this is sad business,” he said. 

“ She was trying to save the mill,” replied Ralph, 
raising his swollen eyes. “ I don’t know how she learned 
where the wires were, but she had cut them just before 
your men shot her. They must be in the basement, as 
she came from there. This lady is my cousin and is 
blind. She says she had no suspicion of what Nathalie’s 
errand was and I am sure she speaks the truth.” 

Detective Murray thereupon explored the basement. 
He was not long in discovering the cut wires, and saw 
with satisfaction that all danger from that source was 
over. 

While he was gone Dr. McNally arrived, and after 
an examination agreed with Edna that life still remained 
in Nathalie’s body. 

“ She must be taken where she will have absolute 
quiet and the best of nursing. Where shall it be ? ” 

“ I will take charge of her,” said a quiet voice. It 
was that of Ellen, who had just entered the building. 

“ That will be excellent,” said Dr. McNally. “ Go 
for a carriage as quickly as you can,” he added to a boy 
he had brought with him. 


312 


KIVERFALL 


“ A moment. Let us see what Mr. Murray says,” re- 
marked one of the Pinkerton men. 

Mr. Murray was feeling good natured. He believed 
the danger to the Riverfall mills was ended, and as he 
reappeared his countenance wore a contented smile. 

“ I wish to have this nearly murdered girl taken to 
my apartment,” said Ellen. “ She cannot move hand or 
foot, hut if you think it necessary you can station a 
guard at my door.” 

The form of the request grated on the detective’s 
ears. 

“ She will be very well cared for at the jail,” he an- 
swered, haughtily. a We shall make every effort to 
aid her recovery, as we want to know a number of things 
she alone can tell us. And, for the present, at least, 
this lady and gentleman ” (he indicated Ralph and 
Edna) “ will go with her.” 

Ellen put her arms around Edna’s neck and whispered 
words of cheer. 

“ I can’t conceive what they intend "to charge you 
with,” she said, “ but I am sure it must be bailable. 
You can easily arrange to give sureties in the morning. 
Poor little Nathalie! I pray her hurt be not fatal! ” 

The carriage soon arrived and willing hands lifted 
the still burden into it. As the distance was short the 
two other prisoners expressed a preference to walk and 
all were soon inside the iron gates. 

The jailor asked Detective Murray if any one was to 
be allowed to talk to the captives. 

“ Not a soul. Let no one go near them without my 
order.” 


313 


RIVERFALL 


Then the detective sought Colonel Kempton. 

“ I ask you to double your guard at the mills,” he 
said, “ and on no account permit any person to enter 
after we leave. It would he well to have a small patrol 
in boats to watch the river also, with orders to arrest 
every one who gives the slightest cause for suspicion.” 

“ It shall be done,” replied the Colonel, and he went 
to give the necessary directions. 


zRIVERFALL 


3*4 


XXVI 

Philip Westland, in New York, had been engaged in 
watching the market rate of Great Central shares, and 
buying as many as were offered. He was full of his pro- 
ject for getting control and operating the mills on a 
basis of fairness to the workpeople. Hugh’s fear that 
his conversion to Ellen’s views would be only temporary 
— that he would “ awake from his dream ” and go back 
to exploiting the laborers for all they would bear — did 
not seem likely to prove correct. He was travelling on 
territory quite new to him, it is true, and no doubt his 
actions were influenced mainly by the passionate love he 
had conceived for the fair leader of the insurgent forces. 
Nevertheless he found a genuine pleasure in taking the 
side of the unfortunates, and constituted himself their 
advocate. 

He had written another long appeal to his uncle in 
Florida, detailing the conditions at Riverfall in his own 
way. There was no choice, he declared, between mak- 
ing reasonable concessions, and seeing the value of the 
property shrink twenty-five per cent, or more. With 
the majority of cotton mills in New England working 
on full time it was not easy to engage several thousand 
skilled people to take the places of those who had gone 
out. He also wrote of the deplorable condition of the 
operatives and of their unaltered determination to ac- 
cept no lower wages than those they had received. He 


3 1 5 


RIVERFALL 


pictured the conditions during the evictions in a way 
that he thought must touch a tender chord in the breast 
of his powerful relative, and also submitted a long array 
of figures to show that a reasonable dividend could be 
paid if the old scale was re-enacted. He even offered 
to guarantee this for the first year at the expense of his 
private purse, and ended by referring to Edna’s entire 
agreement with his views, thinking that this was a 
sentiment by which the old man could not help being 
affected. 

Ho answer had been received to this epistle, when, on 
the morning after the arrests at Riverfall, Philip re- 
ceived a telegram from Ellen, begging him to come back 
immediately. As soon as steam could convey him to her 
side he was there. She met him at the station, and, as 
they proceeded to the village, detailed briefly what had 
occurred. 

“ I do not quite understand yet,” she said, “ what part 
Nathalie played, except that she cut the dangerous 
wires. Whether she was privy to their being placed 
under the mill or learned of it accidentally we have not 
discovered, as she is unable to be interviewed. We 
judge that she merely took Miss Westland for company, 
fearing to make such a journey alone. Of course that 
was unwise, but I cannot find it in my heart to criticise 
her till I know all the facts. It was Ralph’s lighting of 
the gas that attracted the attention of the patrol, whose 
sergeant sent in haste for the colonel and Detective 
Murray, and then feeling, as he says, that no time 
should be lost, ordered the rifles discharged. The court 
is now in session, and I have sent word that you will 
undoubtedly furnish sureties for your relations.” 


RIVERFALL 


316 


They found the court-room crowded and the local 
judge almost overcome by the sudden importance of his 
position. In response to questions by Mr. Westland he 
said he should require $10,000 bail from each of the 
defendants who were present and $20,000 for Miss La 
V erre. 

“ I can give whatever bail your Honor demands,” 
said Westland, “ but my relations will object to be put 
in the situation of criminals, unless some sort of evi- 
dence appears against them. I hardly know yet of 
what Miss Westland and Mr. Melbourg are accused.” 

“ Of aiding and abetting a conspiracy to destroy the 
mills,” said Detective Murray, to whom the judge 
turned. 

“ How ? By cutting the wires that made such destruc- 
tion possible ? Or by being present when this was done, 
not knowing what was occurring. Bor these, I under- 
stand, are their only offenses.” 

The judge turned again ip doubt to the detective. 

“ I shall submit no evidence to-day,” said that offi- 
cial, u but I insist on substantial bonds. At the proper 
time we will confront Mr. Westland’s friends with all 
the evidence they need.” 

Westland simply said, “ Very well,” and gave the 
necessary bonds for all the accused. Then the released 
prisoners accompanied him to the jail where all were 
immediately admitted. 

Dr. McHally permitted the visitors only a glance 
at Nathalie, who lay unconscious on the jailor’s best 
bed, in charge of a nurse, and then took them into an- 
other room. 


3i7 


RIVERFALL 


u It would be dangerous to attempt her removal,” he 
remarked gravely. “ She hovers between life and 
death, and the slightest thing may turn the scale. If 
you can make arrangements with the jailor, she should 
remain here for the present.” 

A full purse is not so bad a pleader, and a bargain was 
soon made, with the proviso that Ellen and the others 
should have free access to the sick girl’s room at any 
time. 

On his promise to use every care, Ralph was per- 
mitted to remain at the bedside. He told Dr. McHallv 
that the bit of girlhood lying there was more to him 
than all else on earth, and that the physician must look 
to him for his compensation. It was a sad vigil to which 
he set himself, for there seemed to be nothing that he 
could do, but he was content nowhere else. 

After escorting Ellen back to her rooms, Mr. West- 
land went to see if he could use any influence with the 
new president. He was received with formal polite- 
ness, but with a constraint of manner that told how 
little Mr. Stebbins fancied the part he was playing. 

“ I come to offer my congratulations,” Philip began, 
i: that the mills seem at last to be out of danger. I 
trust you don’t feel that in offering bail for the girl the 
militiamen wounded I am setting myself against you. 
She cut the wires — that is certain — and is, I believe, 
entitled to our thanks. How she knew of their loca- 
tion I cannot tell and I fear she will die with the secret 
on her lips. As to Ralph and Edna, neither you nor I 
can conceive of their guilt.” 

Mr. Stebbins was reticent on that subject, and Philip 
changed it. 


ji8 


SS HIVERFALL 


“ If we are to protect our property from a great loss 
something must be done very soon,” he said. “ The 
damage caused by idleness will be greater than what was 
to be saved by the cutdown, not to mention the destruc- 
tion of Mill Eo. 4. I see by the morning papers that our 
stock sold yesterday for 209.” 

Mr. Stebbins gasped. 

“ Then I am ruined ! ” he cried. “ I have all of 
mine hypothecated at $200.” 

“ Perhaps the falling off will be only temporary,” was 
the soothing reply. “ I have every confidence in the 
ultimate arrangement of our affairs, and have left orders 
with my broker to purchase for me at every decline.” 

Mr. Stebbins seemed hardly to hear him. 

“ I am ruined,” he repeated, in a faint voice. 

“ How many shares do you hold ? ” 

“ Three hundred. I am ruined. There is no doubt 
about it.” 

“ What will you take for your holdings, en bloc ? ” 

The president looked up blankly. 

“ Do you want them ? ” 

“ I have a client who does, if the price is right. I 
will give you $25 a share above the highest price to-day 
— whatever it is — for the lot.” 

“ You can have them,” said Mr. Stebbins. 

“ Put that in writing.” 

“ I will.” He reached for a pen. “ And I will re- 
sign from the directorate at the meeting which I have 
called for to-day at four. The Lord knows I haven’t had 
a good night’s rest since this row began.” 

Armed with the contract Westland went from the 


RIVERFALL 


house with a lighter heart, for he had taken another step 
along the road that Ellen wished so dearly he should 
tread. He met Hugh before he reached his destination, 
and was telling him the news when Detective Murray 
joined them. 

“ I bear sad tidings/ 7 he said, looking from one to 
the other. “ Mr. Baker’s dead body was found in the 
river this morning.” 

“ His body ! ” exclaimed both men at once. 

“ Yes. According to Mr. Melbourg’s story the 
treasurer left the mill just a moment before the firing. 
He may have fallen in the darkness and struck his head 
against the stone embankment. At any rate there is 
a fracture of the skull which the doctors say would be 
fatal even had he been rescued.” 

“ I am very sorry,” W estland said simply. Hugh 
looked grave but said nothing. 

“ Such is life,” commented the detective. “ To-day 
we are here — to-morrow we are — By the way, the man 
Converse and several of his associates have disappeared. 
They probably were afraid the French girl would con- 
fess,” he added, tentatively. 

Westland shook his head and said he could not be- 
lieve her guilty. Her conduct was, in his opinion, to- 
tally inconsistent with such a hypothesis. 

“ You would change your mind, I guess, if you saw 
the machinery we found under the floor of her room,” 
was the response. “ Yes, it is true; she had an arrange- 
ment by which she could blow up any mill in Riverfall 
at her pleasure. That’s one thing we’ve got down fine. 
We have proof, also, that she was in that room at the 


320 


RIVERFALL 


moment Mill No. 4 was exploded, and also on the night 
when the letter was sent demanding that we release the 
people in the hall under threat of another explosion. 
There are few cleverer cases in the history of crime. 
I am sorry young Melbourg got mixed up in the matter, 
but you ought to know the facts, Mr. Westland. ISTow, 
when the guilt of Miss LaVerre is certain, can you afford 
for your reputation’s sake to continue her bondsman ? ” 

Quite stunned by these statements, Mr. Westland 
went in search of Ellen, to whom he related what he had 
heard. The death of Mr. Baker impressed her greatly, 
and in a hushed voice she gave utterance to regret that 
he could not have met the great change in a more suit- 
able frame of mind. As to Nathalie she said, “ Her 
guilt or innocence is not the main question; we must 
save her life before we talk of that.” And he stooped 
to kiss her, thinking sadly of the young girl whose soul 
hovered between earth and heaven and whom he now 
knew was the affianced of his cousin. 

When the directors met Mr. Stebbins offered his res- 
ignation and proposed that Philip Westland be chosen 
to fill the vacancy. This was such a surprise to the 
others that the motion was declared carried without 
debate. Mr. Stebbins said he did not wish to state his 
reason for resigning, and Mr. Westland, who waited in 
an adjoining room, was invited to take his place at once 
on the Board. The first business in order was the selec- 
tion of another director, to take the place of Mr. Baker, 
deceased, and Mr. Westland, to the astonishment of 
some of those present, proposed the name of Miss Ellen 
Eastman. 

All had heard of the will by which Senator Eastman 


321 


RIVE It FALL 


bequeathed his fortune to the woman who had led the 
forces of the locked-out operatives in their fight against 
the Corporation, but all were not prepared for this coup. 
One of them, Director Stearns, arose and spoke with 
some heat. 

“ I do not care to act on a Board with that woman,” 
he said, angrily. 

“ The lady proposed is one of our largest stock- 
holders, replied Westland, courteously. “ Am I to 
understand that Mr. Stearns resigns from the Board ? ” 

“ I certainly do,” was the answer. “ I will not be a 
party to the plan it is evidently intended to carry out.” 

Mr. Stearns flounced from the room in a state of high 
dudgeon. 

“ I perhaps ought to state,” said Mr. Westland, com- 
posedly, when the meeting was ready to proceed with 
business, “ that Miss Eastman will be, within a brief 
time, my wife.” 

Quite paralyzed by this statement the remaining direc- 
tors had voted the lady into office almost before they 
knew what they were doing. Philip now had three of 
the directors — Ellen, himself and a Mr. Edwards — that 
he could rely on, but the Board consisted of seven, leav- 
ing a majority still in doubt. To his delight one more 
director was ready to play into his hands. Mr. Rice, a 
Boston lawyer, arose and remarked with irony that if 
Mr. Westland intended to favor the scheme he had ad- 
vocated previously he did not care to remain longer. 
His resignation was consequently accepted, and Hugh 
Mayfield elected in his stead. 

Everything had worked better than Philip had 
thought possible, and the newly constituted board pro- 


21 


322 


RIVERFALL 


ceeded to choose its officers, as follows : President, Philip 
Westland; Vice-President, Ellen Eastman; Treasurer, 
Hugh Mayfield. After which it adjourned subject to 
call. 

At the close of the meeting Mr. Stearns returned and 
announced in an ill temper that he should appeal to the 
courts to contest Miss Eastman’s election. “ I am told 
that she is not of age,” he said. 

“ Ah, but she is,” replied Westland. “ She is twenty- 
one — to-day.” 

When he went to tell Ellen what had been done she 
was inclined to object, for he had given her no intima- 
tion of his intention to use her name. But he easily per- 
suaded her that all was for the best. 

“ The people have more confidence in you than in 
me,” he said smiling. “ The stockholders cannot turn 
us out now until February, at any rate, and before that 
time a great many things may happen. One has already 
transpired, the price of cotton has gone down half a cent 
a pound, and is at the rate it was before the reduction 
in wages. Don’t interfere with my plans, dearest. We 
have thousands of mouths to feed, and we cannot be 
particular about trifles.” 

That night an immense crowd gathered about a 
written notice that had just been posted on Mill USTo. 
2, and as these lines were read frantic shouts of joy rent 
the air: 

The Great Central Mills will be opened next Monday morning 
at the old schedule. All who wish employment are requested 
to notify the treasurer before that time. 

Philip Westland, President. 

Hugh Mayfield, Treasurer. 


RIVERFALL 


323 


XXVTI 

John Westland, on his sick-bed in Florida, fumed 
at the news which constantly arrived concerning River- 
fall. His physician has since declared that he would 
have died weeks before but for a rigid determination 
to defeat the “ assaults ” on the property he had spent 
his life in acquiring. When he learned from Philip 
that he had gone way over to the enemy, he was furi- 
ous. And when Edna added her last plea for the mill- 
workers he called a lawyer and cut her off with $2,000 
a year, in a codicil to his will, leaving the signature 
until he could learn what effect this would have on her 
intentions. His letter to Mr. Baker was supplemented 
with another to Mr. Stearns, on whom he felt he could 
rely, declaring that any compromise with the advocates 
of capitulation was out of the question; but this arrived 
one day too late to be of service, Philip being already 
installed in office. 

The telegraph, through the Florida “ Times-Union,” 
told Mr. Westland, Sr., of the culmination that had 
placed on “ his ” directorate a cotton-spinner and a 
weaver who had reestablished wages that he had sworn 
never should be paid in “ his ” mills. So the weary 
old man took his pen and signed the codicil which dis- 
inherited his only child, after which he went to sleep, 
to awake, let us trust, in a better land, where there are 


324 


s RIVERFALL 


no harassing problems to annoy and distress the virtu- 
ous. 

The news was doubly painful to Edna, who had hoped 
all along that her father would ultimately return, and 
that she might convince him of the justice of Philip’s 
change of policy. Eor the fortune she had lost she 
thought little and cared less. It was sad to know that 
her parent had died with bitterness against her in his 
heart, but her conscience told her she had acted rightly. 
When they brought the body home she attended the 
customary rites and wore the regulation mourning, 
and her nearest friends considerately refrained from 
referring to the subject of the will in conversation with 
her. 

Ellen had become her most intimate friend, now 
that Nathalie was confined to her bed, and the two 
girls grew devotedly attached to each other as the days 
went by. But Ellen was beginning to feel the effects 
of the terrific strain under which she had labored, and 
confessed to attacks of insomnia that left her spiritless 
and exhausted. Hugh let out the fact that neither 
had eaten more than once a day during that awful fort- 
night when food was so scarce, in order to husband 
their resources for those weaker than themselves. His 
superb physique brought him through all right, but the 
woman was suffering from the experience. 

Edna never tired of talking of the night she and Na- 
thalie visited the mill together. One day she made 
some astonishing statements to her friend : 

“ You can imagine how frightened I was,” she said, 
“ when I heard Mr. Baker hastening after me. Even 


RIVERFALL 3 25 

when Ralph’s voice assured me I was safer, I was far 
from comfortable. Then came the crash at the win- 
dow and the awful noise of the rifles; and then we were 
under arrest and poor Nathalie lay on the floor, fear- 
fully injured. Such a din, so many men shouting and 
running about! I was really glad when we got inside 
the jail, even though we were prisoners. The parlor 
where they put us was bright and pleasant, and there 
were pretty pictures on the walls.” 

Ellen stared at her. 

“ You could not see the pictures! ” she said, wonder- 
ingly. 

“ Ralph could describe them to me, couldn’t he? I 
have fifty pictures of my ow T n, and I know them all 
by heart, but I don’t think they ever seemed as nice to 
me as those in the jail. The jailer’s wife was so good, 
too. She is very sweet, with rosy cheeks and brown 
eyes.” 

Ellen blinked rapidly. She had feared her tired 
brain would collapse, and now she felt that the time 
was coming. It could not be that she heard her com- 
panion aright. 

“ How do you know the color of her eyes? ” she asked 
faintly. 

“ Oh, I have ways of telling. The sound of a voice 
conveys a very good idea of personality. For instance, 
I know that your hair is dark, that your eyes look like 
a deep pool in the midst of a wood and that you wear 
a wide linen collar and black gown.” 

Edna must have heard these things and remembered 
them. But Ellen’s brain was tired, all the same. She 
felt as if it were not going just right. 


326 


RIVERFALL 


u When we came ont of the jail,” pursued Edna viva- 
ciously, “ there was a woman standing in the doorway 
of the large white house just as you turn the corner. 
She had a child in her arms and seemed frightened. 
The sky was perfectly clear, not a cloud anywhere. 
Oh, I can tell the weather! Such glorious air could 
not belong to a dismal day.” 

She took up her guitar and struck a chord on the 
strings. Then she put it down again. 

“ But it was frightful in the mill,” she began, as if 
in terror. “ That dark place suddenly lighted up with 
the flash of those rifles — the gleaming barrels levelled 
at us ” 

Her auditor interrupted with some impatience. 

“ Flashes and gleams, child? What do you know of 
lights and shades? I cannot comprehend at all! ” 

Edna laughed gayly. 

“ Why, Ellen, before I was seven I could see as well 
as any one. I know that guns flash fire when they are 
discharged, and that light glances from rifle barrels. I 
have had hundreds of books read to me, and I have a 
good memory.” 

When Philip came in Edna could conceal her secret 
no longer. The jar on her senses by the discharge of 
the rifles had done what the highest paid physicians had 
been unable to effect — partially restored her long-lost 
sight! At first she saw but little, lights and shadows 
only, but later she could make out shapes, and now she 
could tell one person from another at close range. She 
was so happy she could hardly contain herself, though, 
fearful that the restoration might be only temporary, 
she had held back the truth as long as she could. 


RIVE It FALL 


327 


The news was sent to Ralph, who came to offer his 
congratulations, but nothing could brighten him much. 
His thoughts were altogether with his little sweetheart, 
who had not yet shown any sign of knowing him. 

When Nathalie did regain consciousness she was 
alone with Ralph. She had evidently forgotten the 
events that led to her prostration, for she inquired in 
whose house she was, and how she came to be so ill. 
The rifle ball had been extracted, and the anodynes 
that Dr. McNally administered deadened the direct 
pain from the wound. 

In spite of Ralph’s devotion he was much chagrined 
that his loved one should take part in such a plot. In 
the face of Ellen’s explicit statements of her abhor- 
rence of violent methods the girl’s conduct seemed 
wholly without excuse. But Nathalie’s danger was 
still too great to allow any such thought to find utter- 
ance. Her question as to what had occurred was met 
with evasion, which seemed to trouble her. Suddenly 
she burst out — 

“ Oh, I — I remember ! ” (She began to sob.) 

“ Ralph! Can you — ever — forgive me?” 

He leaned over the bed and soothed her. 

“ I was so — so wicked! ” she moaned. “ Was any 
one hurt but me ? ” 

“ No, darling — hush! ” 

“ I am so glad ! I deserve my punishment ; but I 
meant well, Ralph, indeed I did! I thought it would 
prevent the poor people being turned out of doors again 
— and the nights had grown so cold! ” 

“ There,” he said, gently, “ you must not get excited. 


328 


s RIVERFALL 


Lie still and listen, for I have much good news to tell. 
An overturn has taken place in the management of the 
mills. Phil has been elected president, and — yes, 
dear — Hugh Mayfield is in Mr. Baker’s place. Think of 
that ! The people cannot be turned out of their homes, 
and — best of all — the mills are running. The old 
wages are paid, too, and Philip has great hopes for the 
future. He says the time is coming when the houses 
will be rent free. The soldiers have gone, and when 
you go out every one you meet will wear a smile.” 

Nathalie’s face that had lightened grew sombre again. 

“ No face will wear a smile for me,” she said, wip- 
ing away the tears that fell fast. “ And I meant to 
help them in all I did! I thought Ellen would really 
be glad — though she would not wish to know in ad- 
vance — and I never understood how she felt until that 
night you came to my door with her. Then I saw it all 
at once, and got Edna to go with me while I cut the 
wires, though she had no idea what I intended. And, 
when I had it finished and was coming up the stairs, I 
heard her scream. I ran up and met you, and you 
scolded me. And then — the soldiers broke in and fired 
• — and that was the last I knew.” 

It was quite clear now that Kalph’s heart warmed to- 
ward the child. 

“ Well, dear,” he said, “ it’s all over, and we should 
be thankful it’s no worse. Dr. McNally says you 
must not talk for a few days, and he only permitted me 
to stay with you on my promise that you should keep 
quiet.” 

“ Just one thing more,” she pleaded wistfully. 


329 


RIVERFALL 


“ Have the soldiers, the officers — anybody — found the 
men — who placed the wires there? ” 

He shook his head. 

u Then I am willing to suffer.” She gave a sigh of 
intense relief. “ I am willing even to die. They will 
ask many questions — the police — but I shall tell them 
nothing. Those men meant to help the poor people, 
as I did, only they made a great mistake. I shall not 
tell their names — never! ” 

This reflection seemed to give her comfort, for she 
repeated the closing words over and over, till at last 
she fell asleep. 

President Westland of the Great Central Corpora- 
tion was spending considerable time during these days 
in the company of Detective Murray of Pinkerton’s, 
and the latter personage was convinced at last that he 
might as well throw up his case against Ilalph and Edna. 
There was, of course, not the slightest evidence against 
either of them. Philip tried to have ^Nathalie included 
in the list, but to no purpose. He urged that the ap- 
paratus under her floor might have been placed there 
during her absence, to throw suspicion on an innocent 
party. Perhaps, he said, it was done during the tem- 
porary eviction of the tenants. 

“ I have positive proof that she was in the room 
when Mill Ho. 4 was destroyed,” replied Murray. “ It 
is a case for the Superior Court, Mr. Westland, and it 
must go there.” 

The Hew York newspapers had a good deal to say 
about the “ trick ” by which Westland secured control 


330 


RIVERFALL 


of the directorate; and Ellen, in the highly nervous 
state to which she was reduced, had a copy of one of 
them placed in her hands by an inconsiderate caller. 
At Philip’s next visit to her room he found her much 
excited. 

“ You must write a denial of these horrible slanders 
in the ‘ Herald ’! ” she cried. “ You have read them, 
I suppose.” 

He sat down and took her trembling hands in his 
strong ones. 

“ Yes, I have read them,” he answered. “ And tech- 
nically, at least, they are true. I have done what I 
could to depreciate the selling price of the stock, so as 
to get possession of it at a price we can afford to pay.” 

She drew back and wrenched her hands from his. 

“ Listen a moment, love. We are running the mills 
to keep a town from starvation. Had we not got pos- 
session thousands might have perished. We cannot 
consider the incomes of well-to-do people for the pres- 
ent. You would not have tolerated the dynamiters, 
but we are destroying the property of the stockholders 
for the present as effectually as they tried to do. Mill 
Ho. 4, lying in ruins, is as profitable at this moment as 
any of the other six. Our goods are even boycotted to 
some extent by the wholesale merchants.” 

He could not please her, for she instantly took the 
other side. 

“ The mill owners robbed the people,” she said, in 
a low tone, as if addressing herself rather than him. 
“ They gave us long hours and low wages, and kept 
back unwarranted sums out of the product of our toil. 


33i 


RIVEKFALL 


Now that we have the opportunity, may we not in jus- 
tice take our own? In the twenty-two years my 
mother and I worked for them they received thrice the 
value of their shares. In the name of Heaven, how 
much do I owe them? ” 

“ Yes, Ellen,” he answered, “ but many of those who 
hold stock to-day have bought it in recent years. Some 
who paid $600 and $650 a share could not sell for $200. 
The ‘ Herald 9 tells the truth about that.” 

She spoke with set eyes, like a seeress. 

“ Why did they buy the shares at that high price? ” 
she queried. “ You know very well. It was to gain 
an easy living at the cost of low-paid toilers. They 
knew, or could have known, by what outrageous op- 
pression the twelve per cent, dividends on quintuply- 
watered stock were produced. They took a partner^ 
ship in that villainy, as the ancestors of some of them 
did in privateers and slavers! If the privateers were 
caught and swung from the yard-arm — if the negroes 
rose and cut the throats of their captors — who will ex- 
tend them sympathy? These purchasers of Riverfall 
stock played a game of hazard.” 

He realized that her mind was not quite normal, and 
he thought it best to remain silent for the present. 
After a little she proceeded: 

“ The capital of the Corporation is five million dol- 
lars. All that was ever invested here from outside is one 
million. Hugh knows. They built the first two mills, 
part of the houses and the original dam out of the mil- 
lion, and the rest has grown from surplus earnings. 
The capitalist has had a fine time. He has drawn 


332 


KIVERFALL 


enormous profits. The workman has been permitted 
to exist, and his wife and children have kindly been 
allowed to labor by his side till they and he have pro- 
duced this immense property. The stockholder has 
had his share. It is time the laborer had his ! ” 

Still he said nothing, and her next words cut him like 
a knife. 

“ I made you a promise — I said I would marry you. 
I have changed my mind. How could I be the wife 
of a man who turned women and children out of doors 
in October, who cared not if they starved, who let one 
of them die ” 

“ Ellen! ” he gasped. “ Ellen! ” 

“ And who,” she went on rapidly, “ reserves his pity 
for the pampered darlings of the aristocracy, lest they 
soil their dainty hands and cease devouring the bread 
stolen from honest labor! They may lose a trifle of 
their ill-gotten wealth, and his tender heart is bursting 
with sympathy! Its every pulsation is opposed to the 
dearest wishes of my soul; and yet he told me he loved 
me! ” 

He knew that his worst fears were realized. Her 
mind was giving way. 

“ He does love you, Ellen,” he said, bending toward 
her; “ he always will.” 

She burst into tears and seemed as weak as an infant. 

When he could make an excuse to leave her, he went 
as fast as possible to Dr. MchTally’s. He explained the 
crisis, and the physician hastened to Ellen’s room. As 
he was about to knock he heard hysterical laughter. 

“ Have you heard the news? ” cried Ellen, as he 


333 


RIVERFALL 


entered. “ I have inherited five hundred thousand 
dollars ! I can live in a palace and buy anything I want ! 
~No more of these low-down mill operatives for me! ” 

She stood erect, with one of her arms raised above 
her head, in the attitude of a mad queen. Hugh, who 
arrived a moment later, took in the situation at a 
glance, and helped persuade the distracted girl to ac- 
company him to the doctor’s house, where she was put 
under restraint and given a quieting potion. 

“ I don’t like the looks of the thing; on my word, I 
don’t,” mused the physician, in response to Philip’s 
anxious inquiry. “ But we shall see — we shall see.” 


334 


PJVERFALL 


xxvm 

The will of John Westland, when it was presented 
for probate, astonished all his relations. That he 
might disinherit Edna was feared by Philip, though he 
could hardly believe the old gentleman would carry his 
feelings so far. She was his only child, and she was 
totally blind, at least as far as he knew when he signed 
the testament. To cut her off with just enough to 
keep her out of the almshouse seemed incredible in a 
parent who had always shown much love, though his 
disappointment at having no son had never been con- 
cealed. Philip had not realized till now how bitterly 
his uncle resented the change that had taken place in 
Piverfall. Edna was the only being on whom her 
father could wreak vengeance, and an estate valued 
— at least before the lock-out — at more than a million 
was taken from her by a stroke of the pen almost with 
the last movement of his hand. 

As soon as he knew what had happened Philip called 
the others into council. His heart was full of the mis- 
fortune that had happened to Ellen, but he could not 
leave his helpless cousin to hear* this news from stran- 
gers. As gently as possible he told her that her father’s 
threat had been fulfilled. 

“ What does it matter? ” was her only comment. 
“ I shall not starve, you say, and if need be I think I 
could even earn something, after a little. I only wish 


335 


RIVERFALL 


my dear father could know what a blessing Heaven has 
sent me in the restoration of my sight.” 

Philip wondered if that father was conscious of the 
scene that was being enacted. If so he must repent 
bitterly his rashness. 

“ Who gets the estate, then? ” inquired Ralph 
moodily. 

“ You never would guess.” 

“ Some hospital or missionary society, I suppose ? ” 

“ Ho. The property goes to one who will, I feel as- 
sured, permit all our plans to be carried out. Hospital 
trustees and missionaries might not do that.” 

The young man stared, and Edna’s countenance 
showed great curiosity. 

“ Out with it ! ” cried Ralph. “ I’m not good at 
riddles.” 

“ He has left every dollar to you ! ” said Philip, 
gravely. 

“ To me ! What are you talking about. I’m as deep 
in this thing as Edna.” 

“ Ah, but he didn’t know ! He wouldn’t leave it to 
her, and naturally he couldn’t leave it to me. There 
was no one but you.” 

Ralph put both his hands in his trousers pockets, and 
walked up and down the room two or three times with 
his mouth closed tightly. 

“ I’ve a notion never to speak to you again, Phil 
Westland! ” he said at last, pausing before his cousin 
with angry countenance. 

“ What’s the matter?” asked Edna, opening her 
eyes in wonder. 


RIVERFALL 


33$ 


“ Do you imagine — either of you,” was the hot re- 
sponse, “ that Dll touch a cent of that money — that 
I’ll be a party to robbing a girl of her rights? What 
in thunder have I ever done to make you think I’m 
such a cur! ” 

“ You’ll have to take it,” responded Westland, “ or 
all my schemes are spoiled! It’s either you or the 
Metropolitan Museum of Fine Arts — there’s no other 
choice.” 

“ I’ll be hanged if I do ! ” cried Ralph, “ no, not even 
to help you out. I’d like to know why Edna can’t 
contest such a silly will, made by a man in his dotage, 
just to satisfy spite ” 

But the blind girl’s hand was on his shoulder. 

“ I can’t let you say anything against my father,” 
she said, earnestly. “ I agree with Philip, and I never 
would dream of contesting an arrangement of one who 
in all his life gave me only kindness. You will have to 
take it,” she continued, with a smile, “ and become a 
trustee for the poor people of Riverfall.” 

It was some time before Ralph could be brought to 
their way of thinking, but after a few days he suc- 
cumbed. Nathalie was the one who tipped the final 
balance. When he told her in her bed of weakness 
she put out her hand and took his, pressing it to her lips. 

“ You can’t refuse, dear,” she said. “ All that has 
been accomplished may be overturned at the next meet- 
ing of the stockholders unless your side owns a majority 
of the shares. It won’t do to run that risk.” 

“ I can’t ! ” he said, distressfully. “ It would be an 
outrage ! ” 


RIVERFALL 


337 


u Ralph,” she pleaded, “ I am going to die — very, 
very soon. This is the last thing you can do — for me.” 

He bade her hush, saying that she was getting better 
every hour, but she begged for his promise. 

“ I tell you what I will do,” he said, after a long 
time, “ If you’ll get well, I’ll — I’ll think of it. If you’re 
able to sit up in that big chair a fortnight from to-day, 
when the hearing takes place — maybe — I’ll accept the 
property — that is, if Edna doesn’t change her mind and 
put in a contest.” 

They clasped hands over the bargain, and Nathalie 
did her best to carry out her part of the contract. But 
the poor child grew whiter every hour, and the strength 
she needed did not seem to come to her wasted frame. 

The Westlands, as was natural, moved back to their 
old quarters in the Agency, and Edna highly enjoyed 
rambling over the house and seeing with her eyes the 
objects familiar for years to her touch. She liked the 
view from the terrace, which was really very pretty, 
the hills and river beyond the long line of factories 
affording delightful vistas. She was shocked, however, 
to find how squalid were the tenement houses occupied 
by the workpeople, and came home in grief from her 
first long stroll among them. 

“ It’s awful ! ” she said to Philip. “ What sort of 
young men and women can one expect to grow up in 
such surroundings? Hot a flower, not a porch where 
they can sit out of doors, not a tree in all those lanes ! 
IIow could my poor father be satisfied to live in this 
luxurious abode and know that over there his own village 
endured such conditions? There must be a blindness 
of the heart, Philip, as well as of the eyes.” 


33 8 


RIVEKFALL 


“ We are going to change it all,” he responded, cheer- 
fully. “ When spring comes and our tenure of office 
is made sure by Ralph’s votes — and when my sweet 
Ellen is well enough to aid us — we will so revolutionize 
Riverfall that no one will recognize it. I have a hun- 
dred schemes, and every one is possible, though twelve 
per cent, may never be paid to the stockholders again. 
Ellen will be so happy. I want you to accompany us 
to Re w York in a few days, where I have made arrange- 
ments to consult a specialist about her.” 

“ I will gladly go,” was the reply. “ Nothing will 
give me greater pleasure than to be of service to my 
dear sister.” 

The journey was made as outlined, Ellen seeming to 
enjoy the ride on the train, the handsome rooms in the 
hotel and the stirring sights of the metropolis. As she 
sat in the private parlor, awaiting the physician, there 
was nothing in her smiling face that indicated mental 
derangement. She was clad in a tasteful costume, with 
her hair becomingly arranged, and on being presented 
to the medical gentleman she gave him her hand gaily. 

“ I am glad to see you,” she said. “ My friends are 
laboring under the strange delusion that I am not quite 
sane — that I need rest and care. Now, I appeal to you, 
did you ever see a more rational person ? ” 

“ You are certainly on the road to recovery,” he 
ventured. 

“ Recovery ? Recovery from what ! I sleep soundly 
at night. I have just finished an excellent breakfast. 
My temperature is normal. Perhaps you imagine there 
is something the matter with my mind ; put it to any test 


339 


RIVERFALL 


you please. My name is Ellen Eastman. We are in the 
Hotel Imperial. That gentleman is Philip Westland, 
and that lady is Edna Westland. What ails me? I 
really should like to know.” 

There was nothing in her manner to excite suspicion. 

“ Miss Eastman is one of the principal owners in the 
Piverfall mills,” said Philip, glancing at the doctor. 

Ellen lifted her head and her eyes gleamed with an 
unnatural light. The right chord had been touched. 

“ Yes, I am ! ” she exclaimed, straightening herself 
in her chair. “ I am worth more than half a million ! 
Do you know what it means — to he worth half a mil- 
lion?” 

The change was sufficiently plain, hut Philip pro- 
ceeded. 

“ W e are talking of giving our tenants free rent after 
the beginning of the next financial year,” he remarked. 

“ And why ? ” asked Ellen, in a sharp, rasping voice. 
“ Why should not a spinner pay rent as well as any 
one else? He talks of reducing their hours of labor, 
too! Instead of having them commence at half past 
six in the morning he wants them to wait till seven! 
Placed at such a disadvantage, how can we compete with 
other manufacturers ? Those operatives want too much, 
but they shall never have their way. I must make my 
dividend ! ” 

Edna thought how strange it was for Ellen to use 
these expressions. They sounded so unlike the gentle 
girl who had gone to bed supperless on Piverfall 
common. 

“ You believe yourself quite well ? ” said the phy- 
sician. 


34-0 KIVERFALL 

“ Certainly. Only ” — she paused a moment — “ I 
have some strange dreams. In one of them I imagined 
— the idea ! — that I was a weaver in the mills in which 
my money is invested! I thought — ha, ha! — that I 
lived in a lodging like the others, and had the same 
poor food and clothing — ugh! And I dreamed there 
was a lock-out, and that soldiers were sent for, and 
that I slept in a tent their colonel lent me ! ” She paused, 
shading her eyes with one hand, thoughtfully. “ It was 
so real that sometimes I almost believe it true, only I 
know it cannot be. For I am rich, rich as a queen ! with 
more than half a million, all my own ! Ho, it — could — 
not — have — been.” 

The doctor murmured that it must be unpleasant to 
have dreams like that. 

“ Terrible,” she answered. “ I could not endure to 
be poor. I presume those who are born to that condi- 
tion grow used to it, but it would kill me. To work, 
work, work, early and late; to sleep in a room barely 
furnished; to eat the food those people have to eat — I 
would rather die. And yet I dreamed ” — she shud- 
dered — “ that I was one of them ! ” 

When the doctor left he arranged that Ellen should 
be taken to a sanitarium near the city, where Edna could 
be with her constantly. He could give no positive state- 
ment yet as to what the outcome would be, but he spoke 
words of encouragement, and the next day Philip went 
back to Riverfall hopeful. 

Dr. Odlin ordered that his patient (who had not the 
least idea that she was such) should be humored in every 
reasonable wish. She soon developed a great fondness 


34 1 


RIVERFALL 


for clothes and jewelry; and very handsome she looked 
when the modistes had done their best. She asked to 
be taken to theatres and operas, in which she evinced 
a childlike pleasure. She drove in the park at the 
fashionable hour, and her face became well known at 
the large dry goods and millinery establishments. No 
one would have suspected her condition, but for the 
expression that fell from her lips on all occasions : 

“ I am worth more than half a million, and can buy 
anything I please ! Do you know what that means — 
half a million ?” 

She began, also, to talk by the hour of the “ palace ” 
she was going to build when spring returned. Not a 
residence among those she inspected on her drives 
equalled the descriptions she gave. One day her build- 
ings were to be of brown stone, another of marble, and 
again of onyx. The sun was to shine perpetually on the 
lovely grounds. Birds were to sing unceasingly in the 
evergreen trees. Servants in livery were to respond to 
every conceivable wish. Gayly-caparisoned steeds were 
to draw her carriage of truly royal splendor, with coach- 
man and footman in gorgeous liveries. And when tired 
of this she ended 

u I am one of the largest stockholders in the Great 
Central Corporation at Riverfall. We have six im- 
mense mills, with three thousand people at work in 
them. They now labor but eleven hours; they must 
work thirteen. The company pays only twelve per 
cent.; it shall pay twenty. I want a great deal of 
money.” 

They brought Hugh Mayfield once to see her, hoping 


342 


BIVERFALL 


that his honest face would arouse the dormant faculties. 
He held out his hand, hut she drew back with dignified 
repugnance. 

“ I remember you,” she said loftily. “ You are an 
employe in my mills, and no doubt an excellent fellow, 
but you should recognize the difference in our stations. 
I wish you good-morning.” 

Edna, with dim eyes, followed Mayfield into the cor- 
ridor. 

“ It must be very painful to hear such language from 
your old friend,” she said. 

u We cannot weigh the words of a distraught mind,” 
he answered, imperturbably. “ When Ellen recovers 
she will treat me in the old way. What advice does the 
doctor give ? ” 

“ That we exercise patience and do not cross her more 
than is necessary. He believes that in the end her 
phantasies will vanish as they came. God grant it ! 
Have you seen Nathalie recently?” 

“ Yes.” 

“ She — she is getting well ? ” 

“ She never will be well.” 

Edna uttered a slight scream. 

“ You do not think so?” she protested. “ Poor, 
poor Kalph ! ” 

“ I am sure of it.” 

The result of this conversation was to obtain Philip’s 
consent that Edna should accompany Hugh back to 
Hiverfall. Her duty seemed divided at this point. 
When Mr. Westland heard what Hugh had said he bade 
her go, but when Ellen learned it she was angry. 


343 


RIVERFALL 


“ Do you mean to leave me for a common working 
girl ! ” she demanded with a frown. “ I know — I re- 
member distinctly — you think I am not rational, but I 
am. Nathalie is one of the people that made the trouble 
which closed the mills. She was in league with the 
wretches who destroyed one of our most valuable build- 
ings; let the jailor take care of her — it is no work for 
a lady ! ” Then when Edna looked the sorrow she felt, 
Ellen melted a little. “ I suppose we must be chari- 
table/’ she said. “ Go, if you wish, but be careful. 
Those people are liable to spread any sort of contagion. 
Have your clothing fumigated before you return.” 

Nathalie was very shy when she met Edna. The 
sight brought back vividly that awful night, when she 
took her helpless friend into such mortal peril. But 
Miss Westland had many words of comfort. 

“ I never can repay what I owe you,” she whispered, 
as Nathalie turned away her face. “ Had it not been for 
our adventure I might have been blind to my dying day. 
The oculists agree that it was the combination of fright 
and noise that gave me back my vision. It is you, then, 
I must thank — under God — that I can look on the 
blessed sunlight and the dear faces of my friends.” 

Nathalie still covered her countenance from view. 

“ I am glad if my great error has brought good to any 
one,” she answered, faintly. “ I did not see how wrong 
it was. You have all been so kind, I am dreadfully 
ashamed. No one has spoken a cross word, and some- 
times that seems harder to bear than punishment. I 
thought at first they would hang me, but now I suppose 
it will only be a long term in prison.” 


344 


RIVERFALL 


u Indeed it will not ! ” answered Miss W estland. 
“ Eo one has suffered except yourself, and you have 
endured quite enough, poor girl! If some one else 
had consented to operate that battery, every mill in 
Riverfall might have been destroyed. You did a magni- 
ficent act when we took our midnight journey. I think 
you a real heroine, and so does Philip.” 

This brightened the invalid a little, and she uncovered 
her face. 

“ You will he good to Ralph when I am gone ? ” she 
whispered. 

“ When — you — are ” 

“ Yes. It will be soon now. I promised to try to sit 
up next Tuesday, hut I am weaker than ever to-day. 
Dear Ralph ! I love him so ! And he needs some one — 
some good girl — to watch over and advise him. Are 
you not happy to see his face now — the best boy on 
earth i ” 

Edna was about to caution the sick girl against un- 
healthful fancies, but she had fallen asleep with a smile 
hovering around her pale lips. 


345 


RIVERFALL 


XXIX 

There was a warm time at the February meeting of 
stockholders. The minority, who felt their large pro- 
fits slipping from them, made a good deal of talk, but 
the faction represented by the Westlands and Ralph 
Melbourg had undoubted control. In a corporation 
there is little help for those who are outvoted, even by 
the narrowest margin, and in this case the balance was 
tipped safely toward the reformers. One or two of the 
smaller holders of stock used impolite language, and 
even shook their fists in the faces of the re-elected presi- 
dent and treasurer, but that amounted to nothing. 
Philip and Hugh had agreed not to let their tempers get 
the better of them. 

A very able financier had been engaged at a hand- 
some salary to assist Mayfield in his unaccustomed 
duties. In spite of the ill-will of the trade, the superior 
quality of goods produced at Riverfall, and the willing- 
ness of the managers to “ meet the market ” in prices 
soon put them where every yard of cloth they could 
produce was wanted. Hugh’s great value, as may be 
supposed, was in his close touch with the operatives, who 
held him only second to Ellen in their regard, and were 
highly pleased to find themselves in his employ. Every 
cloud was therefore dissipated for Philip, except the 
dark one that encompassed his sweetheart. 

She had improved but little, apparently, and early in 


34-6 


RIVERFALL 


March Dr. Odlin advised a change. After consultation 
among the three, Philip and Edna decided to take a 
southern trip with her, the physician being induced to 
accompany the party. They made the journey by easy 
stages, stopping for a short time at Washington, Savan- 
nah and St. Augustine, finally reaching Palm Beach. 

Eor some days Ellen seemed quite happy in the tropi- 
cal atmosphere. She walked and drove a great deal, 
and sat on the veranda of the Boyal Ponciana till late 
each night, showing a buoyancy of spirits that gave no 
indication of her malady. Then she suddenly became 
sombre, responding reluctantly when spoken to and pre- 
fering to be by herself. She no longer cared to ride or 
to hear music or conversation — and at last became 
melancholy to a marked degree. She denied, when 
questioned, that anything was the matter, but her ac- 
tions disputed the assertion. Her friends did not dare 
leave her a minute alone. 

One morning at breakfast, after a long silence, she 
asked in a troubled tone why one set of people should 
always be served and others do the serving. Mr. West- 
land tried to explain that the owner of the hotel paid the 
servants, but she was not satisfied. 

“ They are busy, while we are doing nothing,” she 
said. “ It cannot be right that some should always 
serve and others be served by them. I feel that I am 
assisting at an injustice, and I want a waiter to sit at the 
table this noon and let me wait on him.” 

Mr. Westland persuaded her to finish her breakfast, 
though she ate little, and after a talk with Dr. Odlin he 
explained the situation to the chief steward, who served 


RIVERFALL 


lunch in a private dining-room, and sent one of his men 
to play the peculiar role required. When Ellen found 
the man at table she took her place behind his chair and 
attended to his orders with diligence. It was only 
with a strong effort that Westland could keep back his 
tears at the pathetic spectacle. 

When the meal was finished and the waiter had de- 
parted she found a new cause for criticism. She called 
Philip’s attention to a gardener at work on the lawn. 

“ Tell me,” she said, “ why that man wears poorer 
clothes than you, though he labors all day and you enjoy 
your leisure ? It is a very unfair arrangement.” 

He tried to explain about property and its privileges, 
as carefully as if she were a child of five, taking her first 
lesson. He told her how those who worked received 
stipulated sums, which were theirs to do what they 
pleased with. Some persons spent their wages or salaries 
as fast as received, and on account of such improvidence 
found no rest from toil. Others put their earnings into 
investments, and if they saved more than they used, the 
balance descended to their children, as her father’s had 
done to her. 

She listened with the utmost attention. 

u So some people can compel others to do all their 
work — and I am one of those ? ” she asked, as he con- 
cluded. 

“ Yes, my love.” 

“ But it cannot be right, Philip. Our pleasant life 
makes much disagreeable toil. While we rest in the 
shade others are in the hot kitchens, preparing our 
meals. When we return from a delightful drive they 


34$ 


RIVERFALL 


have our horses to groom and our carriages to wash. It 
is all wrong ! ” she cried, apprehensively. “ I want to 
do my share, and shall never be content till I may.” 

“ Darling,” he answered, “ you are to be my wife. It 
is the duty of a husband to work for both. As soon as 
you are quite well our wedding will take place.” 

Glancing about to see that no one was looking she 
kissed his hand. 

“ Let me help ! ” she pleaded, in a low voice. “ I 
want to be of use. I feel like a thief when I eat what 
others have earned, and wear what tired fingers have 
put together for my benefit. When I can really help, 
Philip, I shall be happy again.” 

In a few days the party started to return north. It 
was raining when they took the carriage at the hotel 
entrance, and Ellen nearly lost the train in her sym- 
pathy for the “ poor driver,” who had to sit out in the 
shower. She talked all the way of the unreasonableness 
of being inside the landau, whle he was in the rain. On 
the railway her thoughts flew to the engineer and fire- 
man, who all night watched over the safety of pas- 
sengers who never sat up for them. Westland’s answers 
to her hundred questions did not satisfy her. It was 
clearly wrong, she argued, that those who did nothing 
should fare better than those who toiled. When, in the 
course of the talk, he referred to Riverfall, she asked 
him many questions about that place, which she did not 
remember ever visiting. She wanted to go there and 
help the poor operatives in some way, and when he as- 
sured her that she should have that privilege she grew 
radiant. From this time she gained steadily, though 


349 


RIVERFALL 


memory was still to be appealed to before the cure was 
complete. Dr. Odlin wanted to wait till some of the 
improvements in her old home had been begun, at least, 
before he permitted her to view it again. He relied on 
the wave of happiness which was being stored up for 
her. And one Saturday evening, about five o’clock, he 
alighted with the Westlands and his patient at the 
Riverfall station, where an immense crowd was gath- 
ered, manifesting the most eager interest. 

One of them, impossible to restrain, caught sight 
of her, and cried, “ Three cheers for Ellen ! ” which 
were given with a will by thousands of throats. 

“ Who are those people,” she asked, turning wonder- 
ingly to Philip, “ and why do they cheer me ? ” 

“ They are the workers in the mills,” he answered, 
drawing her arm tightly through his, “ who have as- 
sembled to welcome you home.” 

Her puzzled air did not immediately vanish. 

“ Home ? ” she repeated, vacantly. 

“ Yes; home to Riverfall; to the village where Ellen 
was born, where she tended her loom. Home to River- 
fall, where she led the people during the great lock-out, 
and where she learned to love Philip Westland.” 

She was silent for a minute, and the great throng 
scarcely seemed to breathe. Then Hugh came slowly 
through the mass and won a pleased glance of recogni- 
tion. 

“ Ellen,” he said, taking her outstretched hand. 

“ Hugh ! ” she cried. “ Dear, good, faithful Hugh ! ” 

Another shout rent the air, making almost as loud 
a noise as Mill Ho. 4 at the explosion. Dr. Odlin 


350 


RIVERFALL 


watched Ellen narrowly, and his face lit up as she raised 
her eyes to his. 

“ Friends,” he said, “ it must give Miss Eastman 
great pleasure to see the warm home-coming welcome 
you have assembled to give her; but as she is rather 
tired from her journey, I must ask you to excuse her for 
the present.” 

The w T hisper ran around that this was the wonderful 
doctor they had heard of ; and, with three more cheers, 
the crowed made way to let them pass. As agreed in 
advance Westland walked with Ellen slowly through 
the streets to the house where she had lived. . When 
they had ascended the stairs and entered her sitting- 
room they found that nothing had been changed. It 
was in every respect the room she had left. 

He waited for her to speak, for much depended on her 
first words. As she took in, one after the other, the 
familiar objects, a mellow light filled her eyes. The 
plants had not been permitted to suffer, and the canaries 
were singing in their cages. 

“ It is my home! ” she said, drawing a long breath. 
“ I am Ellen, the mill girl of Riverfall.” 

He waited still, overjoyed to see how calm she was. 

“ I had a strange dream,” she continued. “ I 
thought I was a rich heiress. I am glad it is not true. 
I shall go back to work to-morrow.” 

He ventured to tell her that to-morrow would be 
Sunday. 

“Will it? ” she asked, in great surprise. “ I thought 
this was Sunday. Did not somebody tell me the mills 
were running ? ” 


35i 


RIVERFALL 


He said they were, but tbe machinery stopped Satur- 
day now at four instead of half -past six. 

“ Ah ! ” she replied. “ I suppose they begin early 
enough in the morning to make up for it.” 

u Ho, dear, they begin later. The mills do not open 
in the morning till eight, and they close in the evening 
at half -past five.” 

She seemed much pleased. He sent for supper from 
the Riverfall House and with it, as had been planned, 
came Edna and Ralph. The party were actually merry 
as they sat around the simple board and talked of past 
and present. 

“ You have no longer any doubt who you are?” 
Westland asked, jokingly, as Ellen clasped his hand 
across the table. 

“ Ho, Philip,” she answered, drinking in his loving 
glance, unabashed by the presence of others. “ I am 
Ellen of Riverfall. I seem to see everything clearly 
at last. Oh, my darling, how good you have been to 
me!” 

The next day was the fairest Sunday any one remem- 
bered seeing in Riverfall. When Ellen looked from her 
window she heard the churchbells ringing a call to the 
faithful — at least, that is what the sextons meant them 
to do. But the metal’s music resolved itself into these 
words only, and repeated them over and over: 

“ Ellen — is home — again ! Ellen is — home — again ! ” 

A little after ten a sensation ran through the village. 
Ellen and Mr. Westland were on the street together! 
People flew to windows, and stared around the edges 


352 


KIVEKFALL 


of curtains. Small boys tumbled in and out of alleys, 
in mad anxiety to see without being seen. The men on 
the sidewalks touched their hats and the women curt- 
sied, giving the couple twice as much room as they 
needed. 

“ They are going to church ! ” ran the whisper, from 
one to another. “ And to the French church, too ! ” 
was soon added, to the general astonishment. 

Yes, they were going to the French church ; had they, 
then, turned Catholics? Ho. When Westland asked 
Ellen where she preferred to attend worship she thought 
a moment and then said there was but one clergyman in 
town she would care to hear. 

“ Only one gave us shelter when we were homeless. 
It would put me in an irreligious frame of mind to go 
elsewhere, but I would like to hear good Father 
Laroche.” ^ - 

The usher recognized them with a smile and escorted 
them to a central pew. Ellen did not understand the 
French language and the meaning of the sermon was 
lost on her, but she felt a satisfaction in being in the 
presence of that good man. The clergyman noticed that 
the visitors received more attention than his discourse, 
but he was content. He even came to shake their hands 
before they went out and his fine face beamed with 
pleasure at Ellen’s fervent “ God bless you ! ” 

“ When we get things arranged,” she said, as they 
walked back toward her home, “ there are several things 
I hope to do. I want to erect a large Protestant church, 
in which some devout man will preach Christianity with 
no sectarian bias ; a place within whose walls any tired 


RIVERFALL 


353 


soul can come and find physical or spiritual succor. I 
would also like to erect a hall, attractive and spacious, 
that shall be open always to the people for social and 
recreative purposes. Shall we have money enough for 
these things, Philip ? ” 

“ Yes, dear.” 

“ I would like to go to see Nathalie now,” she said 
presently. “ Edna tells me she is confined to her room.” 

“ She will need a little preparation, I think,” he an- 
swered. “ I will consult Dr. McNally. You must con- 
serve your strength, sweetheart. By the way, Edna 
insists that you must move to the Agency and share 
her apartments. We have so much to do, it will be most 
convenient to have you there.” 


23 


354 


KIVERFALL 


xxx 

The invitation to Ellen to remove her home to the 
Agency was accepted after much debate. Dr. Odlin 
urged it, as he was obliged to return to his practice in 
the city, and believed his patient would recover more 
rapidly in the midst of the pleasant surroundings. Edna 
plead for Ellen’s companionship with all the ardor of 
her warm nature. Ralph thought the idea one that ad- 
mitted of no argument, and said so in his usual frank 
and impetuous manner. But the voice tliat finally 
turned the scale was Philip’s. Appreciating the real 
reason for Ellen’s hesitation — a natural dislike to living 
as a member of the family of her betrothed before mar- 
riage — he brought Dr. Odlin to admit that there was 
no real objection to the nuptials taking place at any 
time. 

When he urged her to make no more delay Ellen 
asked, half in earnest, if it were not dangerous to marry 
a woman whose mind had so recently been unbalanced, 
but he declared himself ready to take every risk. 

“ I have waited so long ! ” he said, pleadingly. 

They agreed entirely upon the sort of wedding they 
wished. Not the least display, only a simple service, in 
the presence of their most intimate friends. 

“ Just Edna, Ralph and Hugh ? That will be enough, 
will it not ? ” he said. 

“ One other, if you are willing,” she answered pen- 


355 


RIVERFALL 


sively. And when he looked the question she said, 
“ Nathalie.” 

“ We shall have to be married in jail, then. Oh,” he 
added quickly, “ Pm not objecting ! ” 

But Dr. McNally, on hearing of the plan, had a better 
one. He knew that, use what skill he might, his patient 
was not long for this world. She could, he thought, be 
carried without danger to some more cheerful home, 
where she could spend her remaining days in greater 
comfort. A further consultation among those interested 
resulted in preparing the brightest and largest chamber 
at the Agency for the coming guest. When the journey 
was successfully accomplished Ralph smiled for the 
first time in weeks, and Nathalie’s pale face beamed 
with placid delight. 

To the sick girl’s great joy the ceremony was arranged 
to take place in her room, and even the wedding break- 
fast was served in an ante-chamber, where through the 
open doors she could see and hear everything. She was 
too weak to speak above a whisper when the news was 
conveyed to her, but she pressed the hands of each in 
turn, and begged them not to curtail their gayeties on 
her account. It would make her very glad to hear their 
cheerful voices, she said. 

When the breakfast was nearly ended Ellen spoke of 
how happy they all ought to be, though she claimed the 
best right to head the list. “ Do you know, Nathalie,” 
she said, as she sat facing the invalid, “ the mills are 
already running on shorter hours and making money at 
that ? The future is so bright for our people ! Philip 
tells me he hopes to raise wages soon, and later to give 


35$ 


RIVERFALL 


absolutely free rents ! Until a new hospital, a library 
and an evening school building are erected and paid for, 
the directors have decided not to declare over four per 
cent, dividends. Ah, my husband ” — she paused and 
drank in that word — “ is a very good man, for a capi- 
talist ! ” 

She laughed brightly as she pronounced the hateful 
epithet, and Westland regarded her with deep affec- 
tion. 

“ I doubt if there’s much of the old style capitalist 
left in me,” said he. “ I have learned some important 
lessons during the past month or two.” 

“ Let me play 6 teacher / ” cried Ellen. “ I will see 
how well your tasks are done.” 

“ I have learned,” he began, “ that wealth should 
never be permitted to accumulate in private hands be- 
yond a very limited extent; that all natural increases in 
value should be the heritage of the entire community 
where they occur; that the State should confiscate pri- 
vate fortunes on the deaths of those so foolish as to 
secretly amass them; that no child should be poorly 
nourished, meanly clad or deprived of a good education 
merely because its father is not an able financier ; and — 
above all — that there can be no overproduction of cloth- 
ing and food, while a single human being is cold or 
hungry.” 

Ellen clapped her hands like a child. 

“ You have learned the alphabet. The rest will 
come easy ! ” she exclaimed. 

Philip put his hand on her arm in the gladness of 
possession. 


RIVERFALL 357 

a We who sit at this table/’ he continued, gravely, 
“ are able, by one form or another of chicanery, to claim 
three-fourths of Riverfall, giving us, if we choose to 
exercise it, practical ownership of the bodies and souls 
of over nine thousand persons. We must get control of 
the rest, too, as soon as we can ; not to exploit it for our 
own benefit, no, indeed ! but to give it back to its right- 
ful owners, the people who have created it by their 
labor.” 

His wife seemed to hang on his words. 

“ Give it back ? ” she repeated vaguely. 

“Yes. We want an ideal community in which each 1 
will share in all work and the benefits to be derived! 
therefrom; or, as it has been better put by our great 
Master,* e From each according to his ability, to each 
according to his need.’ The responsibility for the use 
of millions is too great for any one man or any hundred 
men. I want it put on nine thousand shoulders.” 

She threw her arms enthusiastically about him. 

“ The idea is magnificent ! ” she exclaimed. 

“ Indeed it is l ” assented Ralph Melbourg, catching 
Nathalie’s rapt expression. “ What do you say, Edna? 
Shall we join Phil in this plan ? ” 

Miss Westland regarded with a sweet smile her 
cousin’s bright face. Her sight was now fully restored, 
and there was no trace of her former misfortune. 

“ You forget, my dear Ralph,” she answered, “ how 
nearly penniless I am. Your adhesion is all that is 
needed to assure success.” 

“ Oh, pshaw ! ” he retorted, “ you know I only took 
* Edward Bellamy. 


35$ 


RIVERFALL 


possession of your fortune to help you over the legal 
difficulties. “ Of course I’m going to give it back to you 
again.” 

“ If you do, I shall certainly use it for our community, 
so it will amount to the same thing.” 

“ Ho, it won’t, for then it will be your gift to them, 
as it should, not mine. We’re with you, Phil. Count 
in our stock and buy up the rest as soon as you can.” 

W estland said he would do so, and in the state of the 
market he thought he could secure good bargains. He 
believed he could get the balance at an average of less 
than $200 a share. 

“ Won’t that be robbing the poor owners?” asked 
Ellen archly. “ Some of them paid much higher, I am 
afraid.” 

“ When one is on a quest for stolen goods he need not 
be too sensitive.” 

“ Eorgive me for a slanderer,” she responded warmly. 
“ There is no trace of the capitalist left in you.” 

“ Just a little. Even in this righteous cause none of 
us will be wise to surrender his last dollar. While the 
world at large is governed by its present social system — 
which we at this table cannot overturn at our mere 
caprice — each needs a certain amount of forethought for 
himself. In a land lower than the sea, dykes are neces- 
sary. Some day, please God, the people will own all the 
dykes in common, but for the present we must guard our 
homesteads.” 

Hugh asked Philip to explain what changes in River- 
fall and its inhabitants he expected to be able to accom- 
plish. Mollie fetched a big roll of plans that had been 


RIVERFALL s 


3 359 


prepared, and at Nathalie’s earnest request they were 
spread on the counterpane of the bed she occupied, so 
that she might see as well as the others. 

“ Now, this first plan,” said Mr. Westland, “ you will 
have no difficulty in understanding, for it is our town as 
it exists to-day. This one ” (unrolling it) “ is what we 
hope it will be in two years at the farthest.” 

Ralph stared blankly at the great sheet of paper, and 
Nathalie seemed entirely puzzled. 

“ Little is left of present conditions except the mills 
and the natural topography, and there’s no reason why 
anything should be. Instead of the helter-skelter lack 
of arrangement of lanes and alleys, we have, as you see, 
a broad avenue in which a wide strip of shaded green 
will occupy the central portion ; also a circle, three hun- 
dred feet in diameter, in the middle of which a fountain 
is to be placed ; the other principal streets radiating from 
this centre in all directions and the subordinate ones 
in circular form at regular distances. These frequent 
bits of green are little parks and gardens that will be 
open to the mothers and small children in each local- 
ity. Along the river bank fields of commodious extent 
are reserved for cricket, baseball and other games, 
while the girls and boys have outdoor gymnasiums here 
and there. On this spot ” (indicating the place) “ the 
finest building we intend to erect will stand — the public 
library and reading-room, and I may add that Andrew 
Carnegie’s name will not affront callers at the entrance. 
Reservations are made here and there, as you will see, 
for schools, churches, winter bath houses and the ordi- 
nary public buildings, while the remaining lots will be 


j6o RIVERFALL 

occupied by the people, who will own this entire prop- 
erty one day in their absolute right. ” 

“ Do you understand it, Ralph ? ” whispered Nathalie, 
in whose hand the young man’s was nestling. 

“Not in the least. What are you going to do with 
your people while this change is going on, Phil? and 
where are you going to get all the money to do it with ? ” 

Ellen looked admiringly at her husband as he pro- 
ceeded to explain. 

“ The area of the new village is somewhat larger than 
the old. We will begin half a mile back, on land that is 
now unused, and build according to this plan toward the 
present village. By the time we reach it there will be 
four hundred dwellings ready for occupancy, and those 
nearest will simply change quarters, others doing the 
same as the demolitions continue. It has all been fig- 
ured out by a capable architect. As to the cost the 
stock we already control brings in $160,000 a year in 
dividends, even at four per cent. We have no land to 
buy, much of the old material will find place in the 
new structures, and when we have finished, as you may 
imagine, we shall have a town worth, in the market 
(though it will never get there) many times the present 
one. I will show you now several sketches of the build- 
ings we expect to erect.” 

But Ralph shook his head in a perfectly “ dotty ” 
manner, for the elegance and beauty of the structures 
intended for public use quite overwhelmed him, and he 
could not comprehend how those rows of tasty cottages, 
embowered in vines and surrounded with grassplots and 
gardens, could be habitations intended for “ mill-hands.” 


RIVERFALL 


361 


He had never dreamed of anything equal to this. Edna 
and Ellen, who had assisted at the planning, laughed 
delightedly at his expression. 

“ Why, they look like gentlemen’s residences ! ” he 
exclaimed. 

“ That’s just what they are to be,” replied Philip. 
“ Homes for gentlemen and ladies, in the best sense 
of the term — honest people who earn instead of steal 
the necessities and luxuries of life. We believe a good, 
clean, healthy habitation the first step toward making a 
good, clean, healthy family. They won’t all show their 
fitness for these surroundings at once, we don’t expect 
it; but I predict the general result will surprise and 
please you. The rent won’t be too high for even the 
poorest of our people, as nothing at all will be charged. 
We have a right then to demand cleanliness and care of 
surroundings of every tenant, and such rules will be 
rigidly enforced. In two years, I assure you, the village 
outlined on these plans will be completed and in opera- 
tion, with little or no indebtedness remaining. We 
shall have our new schools, both day and evening, our 
library, our baths, our parks and playgrounds — yes, 
and our hospital, the building we are in at this moment, 
with its lawns, being set aside in our scheme for that 
purpose.” 

“ And where are you to live ? ” demanded the young 
man. 

“ We have selected — Ellen and I — the sunniest lot 
on this central circle. It is our one bit of selfishness, 
and I hope will be forgiven. Our house is to be no 
better nor worse in its appearance than the others. We 


362 


RIVERFALL 


shall do no more for Riverfall than we ask every other 
resident to do — devote our best energies to its success. 
Why should we be better housed or fed ? ” 

Nathalie and Ralph were whispering busily together. 
It was evident they had forgotten the subject that was 
being discussed, and thinking it unnecessary to explain 
it farther Philip allowed Mollie to remove the sketches. 
The hour was approaching when their train was due, and 
the newly-wedded couple went to make final prepara- 
tions for the short journey they had permitted them- 
selves. 

Ralph was trying to bring into the pale face a tiny 
bit of color. 

“ You’ve not forgotten your promise, darling? When 
the troubles were settled in favor of the people you were 
to become my wife. These wedding festivities make 
me impatient.” 

The slender fingers — oh, so slender now ! — wandered 
caressingly over his countenance. 

“ You must wait till I am a little better,” she whis- 
pered. 

“ Don’t be too long, then. And we won’t be content 
like Phil with a ten days’ trip, will we ? I’m going to 
take you across the Atlantic, to the country where you 
were born. And after that, we’ll go to Venice, and to 
Rome ! I’ll — I’ll take you to see the Holy Father ! ” 

She breathed more rapidly. “ I’d love — to see — the 
Holy Father,” she said, never taking her eyes from his 
face. 

“ W e’ll go through the V atican galleries, where there 
are splendid paintings of the Virgin and the saints! 
You’ll be quite happy then.” 


3<>3 


RIVERFALL 


She spoke drowsily. 

“ When I see — the Virgin and the saints — I’ll be 
quite happy.” 

The nurse, who had been watching her patient care- 
fully, touched Ralph on the arm, and he rose from the 
bedside. Nathalie was asleep and it would not do to 
disturb her. Ellen came to kiss her good-by, but was 
denied the privilege for the same reason. So she took 
the red and white roses that adorned the table, placed 
them where the girl could see them when she awoke, 
and silently left the chamber. 

Two hours later, becoming uneasy at Nathalie’s ap- 
pearance, the nurse sent for Dr. McNally, who found 
that the pulse had ceased to beat. It seemed impossible 
it could be death, for the face was like that of a child 
in calm slumber. She had merely drifted gently from 
the earthly to the celestial harbor. 


THE END 






















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NEW AND SUCCESSFUL BOOKS 


SIR HENRY MORGAN-BUCCANEER 

By Cyrus Townsend Brady. Author of “ For Love of Country/' 
“For the Freedom of the Sea/' “The Southerners/' etc., etc. 
Morgan was the most remarkable of all buccaneers. The author 
shows his ferocity and cruelty, and depicts him without lighten- 
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lesson of the story is one of just retribution, in the awful punish- 
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by J. N. Marchand and Will Crawford. 12mo. Cloth, SI. 50. 

BECAUSE OF POWER 

By Ella Stryker Mapes. It is a novel attractively presenting the 
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Hamilton W. Mabie says of it : “ There is a great deal of vitality 

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THE ROOM WITH THE LITTLE DOOR 

By Roland B. Molineux. First edition, 25,000 copies. A story 
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THE VICE-ADMIRAL OF THE BLUE 

By Roland Burnham Molineux. Author of “The. Room with 
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cloth bound. Illustrated, S1.50. 


JOHN HENRY. (125th Thousand) 

By Hugh McHugh. '“John Henry’ has just ‘butted’ its way in 
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DOWN THE LINE WITH JOHN HENRY. (80th Thou- 
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OUT FOR THE COIN. (First Edition Sept., 1903) 

By the author of “John Henry,” “Down the Line with John 
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A COIN OF EDWARD VII 

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Illustrations, cover design and poster by J. C. Leyendecker. Hand- 
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THE DAY OF PROSPERITY, a Vision of the Century 
to Come 

By Paul Devinne. A vivid, startling and original picture of a re- 
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Cloth bound, $1.50. 


NORMAN HOLT, a Story of the Army of the Cumber- 
land 

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Potomac. (Fourth Edition) 

By General Charles King. Illustrations by R. F. Zogbaum. In 
choosing the subject of this story General King has taken one of 
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The old classic story, illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Here is the 
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DENSLOW’S ONE RING CIRCUS, and Other Stories, 
containing: 

One Ring Circus, 5 Little Pigs, ABC Book, 

Zoo, Tom Thumb, Jack and the Bean-stalk. 

The six bound in cloth, decorative cover, $1.25. 

DENSLOW’S HUMPTY DUMPTY, and Other Stories, 
containing : 

Humpty Dumpty Mary had a Little Lamb 

Little Red Riding Hood Old Mother Hubbard 
The Three Bears House that Jack Built 

The six bound in cloth, decorative cover, $1.25. 













